Crossed Wires
by waterbaby134
Summary: A single phone call turns Jen's world upside down and inside out. A Matt/Jen fic, coz i just love writing them.
1. Miscommunication

**Setting: Somewhere in the later parts of Season One**

**Rating: T for safety due to minor cussing and implied sexual assault in later chapters.**

**Pairing: Matt/Jen of course**

**Disclaimer: I am now the proud owner of a Season One DVD box set I bought the other day but that's all. The concept, characters etc all belong to Channel 7.**

It was Monday afternoon at the Melbourne State Police Station, Homicide Division. As the sun sank over the city and illuminated the buildings with a warm red glow, four young detectives were hard at work.

Or not.

As was the norm when they were not working on a case Matt. Simon, Duncan and Jennifer had spent the day working their way through mounds of tedious paperwork but as time wore on, each of them had abandoned the task and engaged in more entertaining-though unproductive-pursuits.

Duncan, the first to throw in the towel, sat at his computer logging his AFL tips for the next week, glancing over his shoulder every so often to make sure he was not about to be accosted by Wolfe for improper use of the computer network. After the slight altercation last week with a particularly irritating journalist, which had culminated in a fistfight, Duncan was on thin ice with his boss. Again.

Next to him, Simon tapped away at his mobile phone, chatting up this week's object of lust, the pretty little thing from the coffee shop around the block. What was her name again? He paused to think about it. He was fairly sure it started with a 'C' but couldn't remember anything else. He'd have to double check with one of the others before their dinner date the following night.

With his fingers flying across his computer keyboard, Matt gave off every impression of a professional, but if one cared to look at the screen they would have noticed that rather then police work, he was deeply engaged in an IM conversation with Jen, who was directly across from him. Every so often their eyes would meet over the top of their computer screens and they'd smile at each other before returning to their conversation

Duncan happened to glance up in time to witness one such exchange. He nudged Simon and they both rolled their eyes at their colleagues' shameless flirting. Pathetic.

They both heartily wished that their friend would get over himself and make his move already. Watching him constantly staring at Jen when he thought nobody was looking was nauseating. If only he'd work up the guts to ask her out for dinner, spin some Italian at her and be done with it. It would do everyone a favour.

The clock on the wall read 4:05. In fifty-five minutes time they would all be free. The ticking of the clock and the clicking of computer keys were the only sounds that broke the silence as the four friends 'worked.'

Jen sighed. It had been a long day and she for one, needed a coffee. She stood up and stretched.

"I'm going for coffee," she announced. "Anyone want one?"

"I do." All three men answered in unison.

"All right. Be back soon." She reached for her purse.

Matt stood up too. "Jen wait. I'll get them, it 's my turn to buy."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I could do with some fresh air anyway."

She sat back down. "Fine by me. Thanks Matt, you just saved me about fifteen bucks."

Ten minutes later, Matt emerged from the lift and handed out the coffee as well as a small choc-chip muffin he'd bought for Jen. She looked at him in surprise. How had he known that she'd been craving for one of these all day? It was one of the many things he did that made him her best mate.

"By the way, Simon," said Matt. "Carla said hello."

"Carla, that's her name! Thanks Mattie!" Simon was relieved. Carla. That was it. He made a mental note of it.

Jen shook her head in disbelief. She glanced at Matt who just shrugged. He'd long since given up on trying to get Simon to change his womanizing ways. Just as she settled herself with her muffin and coffee her desk phone rang.

"Mapplethorpe…"

While she was distracted with the phone call, Matt seized the opportunity to study the woman he'd been in love with ever since she'd set foot in Homicide six months ago.

Intelligent and vivacious as she was beautiful, he hadn't been able to keep himself from falling head-over-heels for his best friend and colleague. Wary of sabotaging their friendship he did his best to keep his feelings tightly under wraps but he couldn't help it if his eyes…wandered on occasion.

There was a clatter as the phone slipped from Jen's grasp and onto the desk. As he watched, the colour drained from her face until she was white as a sheet. Her face was set into a state of blank shock, and as she hung up the phone he noticed her hands beginning to shake uncontrollably.

"Jen? You OK?" It was a stupid question. He didn't have to be a detective to be able to tell that something was very, very wrong.

"Fine," she murmured, more to herself then Matt. "I'm fine."

"No you're not. What's wrong?"

She forced a smile. "Really Matt, I'm fine. I'm just going to go to the bathroom."

She eased herself out of her chair and walked away with Matt's eyes on her the whole way. She was unsteady on her feet and trembling all over. She made it about halfway across the room and then stopped dead, swaying a little on the spot.

Matt knew what was going to happen a split second before it did. He hurled himself from his chair and sprinted to her side, just in time to catch her as she collapsed.

**So that's chapter 1. Please review if you liked it or even if you didn't.**


	2. The State Of Things

**Rating and pairing same as before.**

**Disclaimer: It's not mine.**

"Honestly Sarge, I'm fine."

Jen was sitting in a chair in Stanley's office where Matt had half-dragged, half-carried her after she had fainted. Dizzy and weak, she was having difficulty focusing on her boss' questions.

"Considering you just collapsed for no apparent reason, I am inclined to disagree with you Detective Mapplethorpe."

"Seriously sir, I'm perfectly fine. I just missed lunch, that's all."

Another wave of dizziness, mixed in with the fear and dread that the phone call had inspired forced her to lean right back in the chair and close her eyes. The world gradually stopped spinning and eventually she was able to open her eyes again.

"Do I need to call an ambulance Jennifer?" She was touched by his concern and somehow managed a weak smile.

"That's not necessary Sarge, but would you mind if I took off early?"

"I think that is an excellent idea. You're in no state to be working at the moment."

Slowly she rose from the chair but fell back into it almost instantly. She blushed, humiliated at showing such weakness in front of her boss.

"I think we need to get someone to drive you home. I don't want you behind the wheel."

Her eyes began to slip closed again.

"Stay right here," Wolfe continued. "I'll be back soon."

Leaving his exhausted detective in his office, he stepped outside. Matt, whose eyes had been fixed on the glass door, rushed over to meet him.

"How's Jen?" he asked as his boss approached him. "Is she awake? Is she all right?"

Stanley held up a hand to staunch the flow of questions and Matt fell silent.

"She's regained consciousness but she's dizzy and she looks like she might drop again at any moment."

"Did she say anything?'

"She claims she passed out because she missed lunch."

Matt didn't know what to say. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Wolfe about the mysterious call and how afterwards Jen had seemed distracted and upset, how her hands shook so hard that she dropped the phone and how she'd gone so deathly pale that she'd looked almost lifeless. Something held him back however. Obviously it was something extremely important if she'd felt the need to hide it from the Sarge and maybe forcing her to deal with it before she was ready would do more harm then good.

"Sounds about right Sarge, she's been buried in paperwork all day," he lied. "She probably just lost track of time."

To his relief, his boss accepted this story without question. "All right. I want one of you to drive her home now, she needs to rest."

"I'll take her," said Matt, reaching for his car keys. "I promise I'll get her home safely."

He opened the door to Wolfe's office and it took him a moment to process the sight of the woman he loved slumped in her chair, still so pale. She was usually so vibrant and full of life but right now that energy he loved so dearly seemed to have slipped away, leaving an empty shell in its place.

Tenderly, he brushed a stray lock of hair off her face. "Come on, Jen," he whispered. "It's time to get you home."

She didn't move.

"I'll carry you if I have to. Do you really want Duncan and Simon to see that?"

She took his outstretched hand and struggled to her feet. She took a step, swayed and Matt put an arm around her to keep her from falling. She leaned heavily on him for support as they made their way to the lift.

Matt looked around and waved a farewell in the direction of Duncan and Simon as he guided her across the bullpen, trying not to think about how very nice it was to be able to hold her like this and to pretend, even for a little while that she was his.

With some difficulty he managed to get her down the elevator and into his car. Neither of them said anything during the relatively short drive to her house, the silence only broken by the incessant chatter of people on the radio.

As he eased the car to a stop in her driveway, he looked over to see that she had drifted off to sleep on the way. He didn't have the heart to wake her so he borrowed the keys from her bag, unlocked the door and returned to the car.

He somehow manoeuvred her out of the car and carried her into the house. As they walked, she began to stir. Rather then pulling away from him, he was pleased when she put both her arms around his neck and nestled in even closer.

Slowly, carefully, he carried her to her bedroom and as he settled her on her bed, she opened her eyes.

"Matt?" she asked groggily.

"Shh. It's OK, Jen," he whispered, reluctantly releasing her from his arms.

"What's going on?"

"Don't worry about it. Just go back to sleep."

She sighed, sleepily. "Stay with me."

If Matt had his way, he would've seen to it that he never left her side again, but now was not the time to act on _that _particular fantasy. Not like this.

"I'll be right outside."

"Promise?"

"Promise. Now go back to sleep."

She smiled at him as her eyes closed once more.

He lingered for a moment until he was sure she had fallen asleep and then leant down to place a light kiss on her forehead, before wandering out to the living room. He switched on the TV and made himself comfortable on the couch.

Hopefully when she woke up he would find out the truth. Until then, all he could do was wait.

**Hope you're enjoying the story so far. Next chapter will reveal all about the mysterious phone call. Reviews would be nice.**


	3. The Light Dawns

**Here we have chapter 3 of 'Crossed Wires' This chapter contains reference to sexual assault but nothing explicit.**

Jennifer became aware of two things simultaneously. Number one, she was at home on her bed and number two, she hadn't the faintest idea how she had got there.

She remembered talking to Wolfe in his office, and then being in a car. After that, nothing. She sat up, trying to rid herself of the last vestiges of sleep and as she did so, registered the sound of the television in the next room. Apparently, she was not alone.

She got off the bed and walked out to the living room to find Matt sitting on the couch watching the images flickering across the screen.

"Hey," she greeted him.

He looked up and smiled at her. "Hey Jen, I was just about to come and check on you."

She rubbed her eyes. "How long was I out?"

"Almost four hours."

"Really? That long? Why on earth did you stay?"

"Because you asked me to. " There was an uncomfortable pause. "Don't you remember?"

Now that she thought about it, Jen vaguely recalled being carried into the house and her childish request that he stay with her. How embarrassing.

"I'm sorry."

He chuckled. "It's fine. I probably would have stayed anyway, I was worried about you."

She blushed as she joined him on the couch. "Thank you."

To her surprise, he took her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers. "Jen I'd do just about anything for you. You know that right?"

Unsure what to make of this situation, Jen quickly extracted her hand from his but found herself missing the contact almost immediately.

Though disappointed at the lack of reciprocation, Matt asked the question that had been playing on his mind all day.

"Why did you really pass out?"

"I told the Sarge. I missed lunch and-"

"No you didn't" he interrupted. "You had a salad sandwich like you always do. It had something to do with that phone call."

She didn't answer.

"Come on Jen. Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then talk to me. Please."

She dropped her gaze from his. "I can't."

"We're supposed to be friends."

"We ARE friends."

"Friends don't keep stuff from each other."

He took her hand again and gently touched her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Please Jen. It's killing me to see you like this. Talk to me."

She wasn't sure if it was the exhaustion, the sadness or the simple fact that lying to Matt just wasn't the same as lying to anyone else, but all the fight seemed to drain out of her. Maybe it was because the concern in his eyes made her feel like somehow, everything was going to be all right. Irrational yes, but comforting all the same.

"OK, OK you win, but I warn you it's a long story."

"I'm not going anywhere."

She took a deep breath. "When I first left high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I'd graduated with fairly good grades but absolutely no direction and my mother told me that I had to either enrol at uni or get a job. So I took a job at this little fruit and vegetable shop that one of my friend's parents owned."

"About the same time I started working there, they also hired another guy, Stuart Matthews. He was funny and smart and a blast to hang out with and over time I developed a major crush on him, but he was older then me so I never told him about it."

She paused, took another deep, steadying breath and then continued.

"Anyway, one evening we were closing up shop and it was just Stuart and I there, as Mr and Mrs Kirkman had already left for the night. I went to get something from the stockroom and he must have followed me in, but I didn't hear him. I turned around and there he was, right behind me. I jumped, and told him he'd scared me. He didn't smile or laugh, he just reached behind him and turned the latch on the door, locking us in."

Matt's hand tightened on Jennifer's. He didn't like where this story was heading.

"I asked him what he was doing. He didn't answer, but he just stood there, staring at me. I screamed, and all of a sudden, he had a knife in his hand and was holding to my throat. He'd told me if I screamed again, he'd kill me, so I promised him I'd be quiet."

She looked up at him, and he felt a jolt as he saw the horror in her eyes as she recalled the terrible event. "You can probably guess what happened next, so if you don't mind, I'll skip that part." A small tremor was audible in her voice now.

Matt nodded mutely. He knew damn well what had come next. The mere thought of his beloved Jen being a victim of that kind of evil was more then he could bear. He didn't need to hear the details.

She took yet another deep breath, and this time it took longer for her to begin speaking again. "When he was…done, he held the knife to my throat again and told me that if I ever told anyone, he'd kill me. Then he just unlocked the door and walked out. Then he called over his shoulder. 'Don't forget to lock up Jenny' he said. 'Safety first.' And then he left."

She paused again, briefly. "I don't know how long I sat on that stockroom floor, crying but it must've been ages because the sun had only just begun to set when I went in there and when I came out, it was pitch black. I remember walking home and being so cold because I didn't have a jacket and it was the middle of winter. My mum met me at the door and yelled at me for being late. I wanted to tell her what had happened, but I was still scared that he'd come after me. I just said that I was sorry and went to bed. I never did tell her what really happened that night and she still doesn't understand why I quit my job the very next day."

They sat in silence for a time as Matt took in all this new information. "Did you go to the police?" he asked finally.

"Not at first. It was a very low point in my life. I couldn't hold down a job, I was fighting with my parents and I lost touch with my friends. I kind of just retreated into myself for about three months but then one day, I ran across him in the street and the bastard waved at me like we were old friends. That was when it hit me that he was running around town freely like he'd never done anything wrong. It made me so angry that it finally gave me the strength to stand up for myself."

"I went straight to the police station and gave them my statement. It turned out that Stuart had done that kind of thing before but they'd never been able to convince the other girls to testify against him. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I took him to court. I won the case and he was sent to prison."

Something about this story wasn't making sense to Matt. "Jen," he said gently. "If this happened so long ago and he got sent to jail, why did it make you faint like that?"

"You remember last week when I was sick with food poisoning and couldn't come to work?"

He nodded.

"I was actually at Stuart's parole hearing. I had to make a statement and the court made their decision today."

Understanding slammed into him.

"They're letting him go."

"That's what the phone call was about. The prosecutor wanted to tell me the news personally."

He winced at the forced calm in her voice and the way she desperately tried to avoid making eye contact with him. "Oh Jen, I'm so sorry."

"Matt, there's one more thing. After the parole hearing, Stuart said the same thing to me that he said on the night that…you know, it happened."

"What, the thing about locking the doors?"

"I'm probably just being paranoid but my gut instinct tells me that something's going to happen. He said if I ever told anyone he'd kill me! What if that's what he's trying to do?"

As he watched, the calmness began to give way to the fear. Just as before, her body began to tremble and he could see the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes.

"Jen, look at me."

Hastily wiping the tears away, she obeyed.

"I swear to you, this guy is never going to hurt you again. I'm not going to let him anywhere near you. Do you understand me?"

She nodded. And then burst into tears.

Matt did the only thing he knew how. He gathered her up in his arms and simply held her. She buried her head in his shoulder and wept and wept as if her heart were breaking.

"I mean it," he whispered to her. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He said no more, but just held her tighter and ever so gently stroked her hair.

They sat like that for many hours until she eventually cried herself to sleep.


	4. Enigma

The elevator doors slid open at the Homicide floor and Duncan stepped out of it balancing a tray of coffee in one hand and clutching a wad of paperwork in the other. A quick glance over at the desks informed him that he was first to arrive, an unusual occurrence. He'd almost made it to the desk when the papers slid from his grasp and fluttered to the floor.

The ping from the elevator and a hearty chuckle announced Simon's arrival. Grabbing his coffee from the tray, Simon made himself comfortable in his chair and enjoyed the spectacle of his mate scrabbling around on the floor.

Matt and Jennifer arrived together a few minutes later. Matt merely laughed at Duncan and went to his desk, leaving Jen to take pity on him. She bent down to help him gather up the fallen papers. He smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks Jen. It's nice to know that _some _people around here have a bit of consideration." He looked pointedly at the others, who grinned at him.

"Yeah that's you Dunny. The king of tact and sensitivity," Simon quipped. He and Matt burst into laughter as Duncan glared at them both. Even Jen had to work hard to suppress a smile.

To distract herself, she turned her attention to the next sheet of paper on the floor.

And froze.

Glowering up at her from a police file photo was Stuart Matthews. He looked exactly as she remembered him; the same shaggy hair, the same cold eyes. She tore her eyes away from his face to read the bold type at the top of the page. "WANTED. ESCAPED PRISONER."

"Jen, you all right?" Duncan's voice emanated from somewhere far away and she realized that she had been stationary for almost a full minute.

"Fine. I'm fine. Just spaced out for a minute that's all." As nonchalantly as possible, she reached for more papers. When none of the others were looking, she took the one bearing Stuart's face, folded it, and slipped it into her purse.

Once the floor was free of paper, she and Duncan proceeded to their desks. Her eyes found Matt's as she slipped into her chair and she knew her shock must have been showing as his gaze quickly filled with concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked her quietly.

Almost imperceptibly, she shook her head. "I'll tell you later," she replied in an undertone.

Matt cast another worried glance in her direction before turning to his left and engaging Simon in conversation.

The morning passed by without great incident, unless you counted Simon 'accidentally' bumping into the corner of Duncan's desk and spilling coffee all over his files. The muscle twitching in Duncan's face was taken by Simon as a cue to go to lunch. He looked nervous as Duncan joined him in the lift.

The instant the doors closed, Jen grabbed the sheet of paper in her bag and thrust it at Matt. "Look at this."

Matt's eyes widened as he scanned the file.

"Escaped? Why would he do that, he was due for parole?"

"One of his parole conditions was that he'd have to wear an ankle bracelet, he wouldn't have liked that. Stuart likes to think of himself as an enigma of sorts."

"Still, that's a pretty stupid thing to do. There's going to be cops tailing him all the time until he's caught."

"They'll be damn lucky if they can find him. He knows how to evade the police. Apparently they'd been trying to nail him for about two years before I came forward."

She took the paper back and gazed at Stuart's face once more. "He hasn't changed one bit. After all these years." She refolded the page and put it back in her purse. "Matt what am I going to do? He's coming for me, I know it."

"No he isn't."

"You don't know him like I do, he won't give up until he finds me."

He took her hand and squeezed it. "We're going to catch him and put him back in the slammer where he belongs. We're going to get through this, Jen. I promise."

She looked into his eyes. "I really want to believe you Matt, but I just can't. I know what he's capable of. He's slick and cunning and methodical. We won't find him. He's going to find _me _first."

Matt didn't know what to say.

The afternoon found Jen and Matt in the underground car park arguing over whether or not he should accompany her home.

"Matt, you don't need to take me home, I'll be OK."

"Jen if this guy is as dangerous as you say you shouldn't be on your own, at least until he gets caught."

"That could take weeks, months, years even! You can't be my personal bodyguard around the clock. You need to get some rest."

"I'm fine."

"You're exhausted. I kept you up all night yesterday."

"I'm _fine._"

"Matt, I'll be OK. I promise I'll go straight home, lock the doors, bolt the windows, activate the electric fence..."

He didn't smile. "That's not funny."

She looked embarrassed. "Seriously. Go home. Get some sleep, I'll be fine."

"Jen you think this guy's after you, do you really think I'm going to just abandon you to deal with all this on your own?"

"It's just a feeling I have. I don't have any proof."

"Jen whenever you speak about him, your words are calm but your eyes are full of terror. That's proof enough for me."

She sighed.

"You're right. I _am _scared and I really do appreciate what you're trying to do for me, but this is my problem not yours."

"You're my best friend. Your problems are my problems."

"OK, right now my problem is that _my_ best friend is being an idiot and refuses to go home because he's too busy worrying about me, even though he's so tired he can barely keep his eyes open."

Inconveniently, Matt couldn't suppress a yawn at these words, earning himself an "I told you so" look from Jen. Sensing he was not going to win this argument, he relented. "OK, you win. But neither of us are going anywhere until you promise me something."

Looking around to make sure nobody was watching, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her once more. "If you happen to need me for any reason, then you call me. Even for the tiniest thing. All right?"

She nodded against his chest.

He released her from his embrace and she started to turn away. He grabbed her back. "I mean it. Anything at all."

She smiled at him. What had she done to deserve such a wonderful person as Matt in her life? She stepped forward and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, lingering ever so slightly before she drew away. "Goodnight Matt."

"Night Jen. Sweet dreams."

She walked away and he battled down the impulse to run after her and insist that she let him go with her.

He watched her as she got into her car and reversed out of the parking space. Just before she pulled out of the parking lot, she leaned out the window and jokingly blew him a kiss.

He chuckled as her taillights disappeared around the corner.

With every day that passed he was falling more and more in love with her. But how would he ever pluck up the courage to tell her how he felt, and with Stuart Matthews in the picture, would he ever get the chance?

When she pulled up outside of her house, Jennifer didn't notice the blue sedan that was parked across the street.

The man in the driver's seat watched her intently as she fumbled with her keys and let herself into the house.

He shifted slightly in his seat and the light from the street lamps fell upon his face. Stuart Matthews quickly corrected this error, for fear she should look out the window and see him.

The door to the house opened and she stepped out to collect the mail. She flicked through the envelopes as she returned to the house with Stuart Matthews following her every move.

It was long after the lights in the house had been turned off for the night that the blue sedan finally drove away.

Inside the house, Jennifer lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Try as she might, she just couldn't seem to fall asleep. Her thoughts drifted back to the previous night. It had been a long time since she had fallen asleep in someone's arms. She'd forgotten how soothing it could be. She missed Matt's presence now; it was the first time they had been separated since the beginning of this mess, 36 hours ago. It was easier to be calm while he was around. But now she was alone. All the frightening and irrational thoughts she'd been pushing away the last few days were back now with a vengeance and she had no-one to distract her from the torturous games of her own mind.

Across town, Matt too was experiencing a bout of insomnia. He knew full well that Jennifer was a grown woman and could take care of herself, but that didn't stop him from worrying. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to her because he wasn't there to help her.

Twice that evening, he'd been on the verge of calling her just to check in, but stopped himself at the last minute. It occurred to him that it might come off as a little stalkerish and unnecessarily overprotective. She would be fine, he told himself. She was a trained police officer who had proved on numerous occasions that she was capable of handling pretty much anything that people threw at her. She'd promised to call if something went wrong.

Suffice it to say, neither Matt nor Jennifer got much sleep that night.


	5. Correspondence

**As always, I own nothing that you recognize, it belongs to Channel 7. Stuart Matthews is in fact mine, but who'd want to claim that?**

_Crack. _Jen sat bolt upright in bed as the tree branch struck her bedroom window yet again. She looked around nervously as her heartbeat gradually returned to normal. This had been happening all night long. The tiniest noise outside sent her into a panic and the slightest shift in the shadows had her convinced that Stuart was about to come looming out of them, ready to finish what he'd started eight years ago.

She took deep, steadying breaths in an attempt to calm herself. This whole business was making her paranoid, she told herself sternly. Like she'd told Matt last night, she had no proof that Stuart was anywhere near her, much less that he was coming after her.

But all the rationality in the world couldn't stop the prickling feeling at the back of her neck or the horrible sensation that she was being watched.

For the umpteenth time that night, she found herself heartily wishing that she'd let Matt come home with her, if only so that she could look over at him and not feel quite so alone.

She let her head fill with comforting thoughts of him as she tried once again, to sleep.

Stuart Matthews craned his neck to watch Jennifer exiting her house the next morning. She looked tired, he noticed, and she'd put on rather heavy makeup to try and hide the fact. She must've heard about his daring escape by now, it had been on the news; perhaps that was why she couldn't sleep.

The idea pleased him.

Eight years she had cost him and all because she couldn't keep her damn mouth shut. None of the other girls had given him any trouble at all. They'd been far too frightened.

But she had to be brave and tell people about what had happened. It was a shame really that he had to kill her now. She was a beautiful woman. It seemed like such a waste.

But she'd known the deal. If she told anyone, he'd kill her, simple as that. She'd made her choice.

And for all his faults, Stuart was a man of his word. But he would not end it straight away. Such things couldn't be rushed. First she would be made to suffer, just as he had done. She would pay.

He ran a hand through his new, short haircut. The first thing he'd done after escaping prison was to change his appearance. With brand new blonde hair and coloured contacts, he now looked nothing like his police file photo.

He'd learned at the parole hearing that she was living in Melbourne, working as a homicide detective. Once he was out, finding out her home address was child's play. Really it had all been too easy so far, rather disappointing on the whole.

But that was all about to change. Phase one of his plan was about to begin.

Jennifer got into her car and drove off up the street. Stuart put his blue sedan into gear and followed.

As she navigated the busy streets of Melbourne, Jen felt troubled. The few hours sleep she'd managed to get had been plagued by images of knives and locked doors. Off in the distance stood Matt but no matter how she begged and pleaded for him to help her, he didn't turn around.

She'd awoken with a splitting headache and more exhausted than she'd been when she went to bed. Then, her coffeemaker had crapped out and her cat had chosen to make a nest out of her suit for work. She'd spent half an hour with a lint brush, trying to get rid of the orange fur.

On top of that, she was now running late. She swore as the light turned orange and the car in front of her stopped for the red. The day couldn't have started off any worse.

It was with an ill grace that she pulled into her space in the parking lot and made her slow way up to Homicide.

The blue sedan continued up the street, U-turned and finally pulled to a stop across the street from the parking lot.

As Jennifer expected, she received a severe reprimand for her lateness from her boss, which was accompanied by gleeful smirks from Simon and Duncan who were hovering nearby.

She ignored them both as she proceeded to her desk. Matt caught her eye and shot her a sympathetic smile, which she half-heartedly returned, noticing that he looked as tired as she felt.

The rest of the morning snailed by. She tried to concentrate on her work for the day but by noon she'd only written two paragraphs of her report, both of which were riddled with spelling and punctuation mistakes and she'd snapped at Simon for talking too loudly and Duncan when he'd accidentally picked up a file she needed. Not even Matt had been spared, receiving a blazing glare when he'd mistakenly put too much sugar in her coffee.

All in all, it was a great relief to everybody when lunchtime rolled around. Jennifer pulled out her sandwich and forced it down, even though she didn't feel the slightest bit hungry.

"Detective Mapplethorpe?" a voice said.

"What?" she snarled, irritably,

The young uniform looked a little taken aback at the sudden attack.

"A package for you," he mumbled, handing it over.

"Thank you," she said icily and the officer scurried away.

She ripped open the envelope. Inside, she found a piece of paper and several photographs. Curiously, she picked up the photographs. To her horror, the first one depicted her house and she saw herself in one of the front windows.

She flicked through the rest of them and they were all like it. Pictures of herself entering and leaving her house, some of her in her car, some of her outside the police station and even one of her leaving the Chinese place where she'd got dinner the night before, having not been in the mood to cook.

With a sense of growing foreboding, she let the photos scatter over the desk and turned her attention to the paper.

_Jenny,_

_As I assume you have heard by now, I have recently vacated my residence of the last eight years._

_I'm sure you remember that I have __you __to thank for my stay in that hellhole, so I thought I would look you up and extend my thanks in person._

_You seem to have made quite a comfortable life for yourself and I hope you are satisfied with what you did to me in order to get it._

_Unfortunately, Jenny my dear, I once made a promise to you that I have not been able to keep thus far. Rest assured that this matter will soon be rectified. _

_I am confident that we'll meet again very soon. Until then, keep looking over your shoulder. Maybe you'll spot me!_

_With best wishes, _

_X_

_P.S Don't forget to lock up, Jenny. Safety first!_

She read this letter three times, her panic increasing with each reading. Here it was, solid proof that her gut instinct had been correct. Terror began building inside her as she reread the last line. With forced calm, she looked up at Matt's desk. It was empty.

"Duncan?" she asked, a slight wobble in her voice.

Wary of another snap attack, Duncan took a moment to answer. "Yes?"

"Where's Matt?"

"He and Si went to get pizza."

"I need to see him," she said, the tremor in her voice more evident now.

Duncan grinned at her. "Chill out Jen, they'll be back soon, I'm sure whatever it is can wait another twenty minutes."

Tears began prickling at her eyes. " Duncan you don't understand, I need to see him now!"

He sighed. "Jen, for God's sake what's with…" He was cut off midsentence as he noticed she was crying. His irritation with her disappeared immediately.

"What is it?" he asked her, concerned. "What's wrong?" With his normally unflappable colleague falling to pieces right in front of his eyes, Duncan was seriously out of his depth.

"I can't tell you."

"Jen I-"

"Duncan, please! Just get Matt for me."

"OK, calm down Jen," Duncan didn't have a clue what was going on here but he did know that if any of them was able to find out, it would be Matt. I'll try and get him on his mobile."

Slowly, she sat back down in her chair trying to ignore the pressing panic, not even bothering to brush the tears away as they fell.

Matt picked up the phone on the third ring.

"Ryan,"

"Mattie, it's Duncan. Listen you've got to get back here right now."

"We're just heading back now. What's up?"

Duncan lowered his voice. "It's Jen."

Matt's easy tone changed, protective instincts on high alert. "What about her? Is she OK?"

"I don't know," said Duncan truthfully. "She's really upset about something, but she won't talk to me. She just keeps asking for you." He checked that she was well out of earshot before continuing. "Mate, I've never seen her like this before, I don't know what to do."

"And you have no idea what brought this on?"

"Not a clue. But she did get a package just before."

There was a brief pause.

"I'll be right there."

The phone line went dead.

Just over five minutes later, Matt and Simon emerged from the elevator. Jen, who by this stage was bordering on hysterics, sighed with relief and flew into Matt's arms.

Simon and Duncan exchanged dumbfounded looks as the strange scene unfolded.

"It's OK," Matt murmured. "I'm right here. You're all right."

She clung to him as the fear ever so slowly began to dissipate. Once she had regained control she looked into his eyes, embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry to drag you back here like this. I just-I got this package and I saw what was in it and I freaked out. "

"Don't apologize, there's nothing shameful about being scared." He gently rubbed his thumb across her cheek, wiping away a stray tear. "Now, where is it?"

She went to get it, and Matt turned to Duncan and Simon.

"Guys could you give us a minute?"

Simon opened his mouth, but Duncan beat him to it. "Sure. We'll be in the break room if you need us. C'mon Si, let's let them sort this out."

He headed for the door, dragging a confused Simon along behind him by the wrist.

**I've been so flattered by all your wonderful reviews and I value any feedback you wish to give, so please don't hesitate to leave your thoughts, criticism etc.**


	6. Impasse

**Chapter 6 is here! Rating and pairing both remain the same. Once again I will point out that I own nothing. Enjoy! **

Matt examined the contents of the package that Stuart had sent to Jennifer, fighting down the white-hot fury it had inspired.

"We should give this to Forensics," he suggested when he was done. "Maybe they'll find some hair or saliva or something."

She shook her head. "There's no point. There won't be anything on it."

"You never know. Maybe Stuart slipped up."

"He doesn't do that."

He sighed. "Well you're going to tell the Sarge at least, right?"

She shook her head again.

"Jen this guy is stalking you, and now we have proof! You _have _to tell him."

"I can't. And I want you to promise me _you_ won't tell him either. Or Simon and Duncan, for that matter."

"Jen..."

"Promise me!"

Damn those beautiful blue eyes. Matt couldn't refuse her anything with her looking at him like that. He wondered if she knew the kind of power she held over him. He hoped not, or by God, he was doomed.

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly. "For now."

"Thank you," she said quietly and made to stow the papers away in her desk drawer.

He grabbed her hand to stop her. "I wasn't finished."

She looked at him questioningly.

"Jen how long are we going to go on like this? What's it going to take for you to admit that we are in _way_ over our heads here?"

"When it gets too much, I'll be the first to admit it."

"But you won't!" So great was Matt's frustration, he was having trouble controlling his voice. "I know you, Jen, you're too proud and stubborn for your own good-"

"That's not true!"

"Yes it is, and you know it! I know you're all about fighting your own battles and standing up for yourself but you need to start acknowledging your own limitations or you're going to end up getting hurt!"

"I can take care of myself!"

Matt suddenly became painfully aware of the heads turning in their direction. Not wanting to become the subject of this week's office gossip, he thought he should put an end to this conversation, at least until they could conduct it in privacy.

"I know you can, I'm sorry…" he began, soothingly.

Unfortunately, Jen was not to be calmed so easily.

"You're not sorry!" she spat angrily. "You think I'm just this helpless little damsel in distress, waiting to be rescued…"

"That's not fair," he responded coolly. "I have great respect for your independence, you know that."

" I thought so, but suddenly I'm not so sure."

His calm façade melted away and he equalled her accusatory glare. "So what, now _I'm_ in trouble because I don't like the idea of someone I care about putting herself in danger, is that it?"

She was so stunned by his sudden outburst, her next argument died on her lips.

"I'm not going to apologize for worrying about you, Jen. You're so worried about proving yourself that you're getting reckless and stupid," Matt went on, taking advantage of her silence. "Some time soon, it's all going to come back and bite you on the ass, and I don't want to be around to see that happen!"

Abruptly, he turned away from her and walked away as fast as he could go.

The action triggered a memory of the dream she'd had last night of herself screaming for help while Matt ignored her pleas, refusing even to look at her. She found her voice.

"Matt?" she called after him.

He paused, but still didn't turn around.

"You're right," she said quietly. "I can't get through this alone. I need you."

Oh how he had longed for her to say those words. He wanted to run to her, sweep her into his arms and never let her go for as long as he lived. He wanted to tell her that she was his whole world and that the thought of losing her to Stuart Matthews or anyone else, made him feel physically sick.

But he couldn't. He simply couldn't stand by and watch her drown in a web of pride and deceit.

Finally, he met her gaze. It felt like a knife to the heart as he watched her tense face relax into a hopeful smile. The same gorgeous smile he'd fallen in love with.

"I'm sorry Jen. How can I help you when you won't help yourself?"

The metaphorical knife plunged in a little deeper as her smile faded. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed, but he forced himself to turn away from her and keep on walking.

She looked on, devastated, as Matt, her best and most loyal friend, and her only ally against Stuart Matthews, was swallowed up into the elevator and disappeared from view.

She didn't have long to dwell on this however, as Duncan's voice sliced into her reverie.

"What the hell is going on here? Are you two having a lover's tiff?" He chuckled at his own joke and she heard Simon join in from the break room. She tuned them both out as she gazed at the elevator doors, willing them to open and bring Matt back to her. They didn't.

When she finally got home that evening, Jennifer Mapplethorpe looked much the worse for wear. Her makeup was smeared and smudged, her hair was a mess, and even the way she carried herself proclaimed to the world the gut-wrenching pain she was in.

Rain had been beating a steady tattoo on the roof of her during the drive home, water obscuring her vision. Of course, she couldn't be sure if it was the rain, or her own tears that was making it so hard to see. As she opened the car door, it rained even harder.

She didn't bother running for the shelter of her house. Instead she stood still and let it pour down on her until she was drenched from head to foot and shivering with cold. It gave her other things to concentrate on so she could try and forget how badly she had screwed everything up.

Matt, fighting with her.

Matt, leaving her.

Matt, breaking her heart.

It was a good half-hour before she went inside.

Stuart Matthews grinned at the spectacle. Perfect.

Changed into dry clothes and having towel-dried her hair, Jennifer was opening a bottle of wine when she heard the knock at the door.

As she walked down the hall to open it, she thought, foolishly, of Matt. Had he forgiven her?

She opened the door to find a blonde man on the step, holding a bouquet of flowers and a clipboard.

"Good evening ma'am," he said pleasantly. "Ernie Stavrino, from Laddita Flowers Delivered." He consulted the clipboard. " Are you Jennifer Mapplethorpe?"

She nodded, and he handed her the large bundle of flowers. "Somebody loves you," he remarked as she studied them in surprise.

"I wouldn't bet on it," she said dispiritedly. "Not after today."

"I'm not so sure about that. These flowers ain't cheap you know, I'm sure whoever sent them cares for you a lot."

"I have a gift for driving away the people who care for me the most," she said sadly, thinking of Matt.

"I'm just a delivery guy but I reckon if they truly care for you, they won't allow themselves to _be_ driven away."

"I guess so." She stroked the velvety petal of a rose.

He held out the clipboard. "I just need a signature to say the flowers arrived in good condition, and then I'll be on my way."

"Hang on, I'll just get a pen."

She found one lying on the hall table, next to a framed photograph of herself, Matt, Simon and Duncan taken at the office after they had closed a case.

She smiled at it fondly. She couldn't believe how close they'd all become in such a short time. Duncan and Simon were like brothers to her now and Matt, a best friend, a confidante and a shoulder to cry on (as he'd amply proved over the last few days.)

Suddenly, a realization slammed into her with such force that she had to grab the edge of the table in order to stay standing.

"Hey Ernie," she said when she finally returned with the pen. "Do you think it's possible to be in love with someone, and not even realize it?"

He shrugged. " I think anything's possible."

She signed the receipt. "Thanks for listening."

"No worries." He grinned at her and she turned around to go back inside.

"Miss?"

She turned around.

"Do _you_ think it's possible to have known someone once, but when you see them again, not know who they are?"

"I suppose so. Why?"

"Oh Jenny, I have to confess I'm a little disappointed. Granted it's been eight years but I was so sure that you'd recognize me."

She was confused for a moment and then something sunk in.

"Eight years?"

"That's right. Of course I've had a little work done since then; cut my hair, got taller…"

She studied him closely, looked into his eyes properly.

"Oh my God…"

"And the sun shines again! You must be quite the detective my darling." The endearment made her skin crawl with revulsion.

"You-"

He cut across her. "Perhaps we should take this conversation elsewhere. Too many prying eyes."

He hit her on the head. Hard. The blow rendered her unconscious almost immediately and she fell to the ground. He smiled as her forehead collided with the edge of the step and blood began gushing forth.

Stuart hoisted his victim over his shoulder, jostling her violently as he supported her weight.

Then, like a phantom, he melted away into the night.


	7. Bloodlust

**Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine.**

Pain. Fear. Despair. Those were the only words to describe Jennifer's current situation. She 'd regained consciousness to find herself lying on her side on a hard concrete floor. The pain in her head was excruciating. She ran a hand over it gingerly. A painful lump had risen where Stuart had struck her and the gash on her forehead was still seeping blood, which had trickled all over her face and into her hair.

She looked around the small room. A bare light bulb gave off a feeble beam of light that barely permeated the pressing darkness and she could just make out the silhouette of what seemed to be a workbench of some sort. Other than that, the room was bare and freezing cold. There was a single window, boarded up so that no light could seep through.

She struggled to sit up and was momentarily distracted from her throbbing head by a searing pain in her chest. She drew a deep breath and bit back a shriek as the pain intensified; it appeared that she had fractured a few ribs.

It was a room from one of her nightmares, equalled only by the creature that had put her there. There was a soft fizzing sound and the light bulb flickered, and then went out.

Now the darkness was absolute.

*****

Matt switched on his bedside lamp. His digital clock read 6:30 am, the end of yet another restless night. In a way, he was pleased. He didn't deserve a good night's sleep. Not after the way he'd treated her yesterday.

He'd spent the sleepless hours going over and over the conversation in his head. He thought of all the cruel things he'd said to her, and even worse, the way he'd simply walked out, leaving her to carry this burden alone.

After promising he would be there for her, instead he had abandoned her, just like that.

He was disgusted with himself. She'd trusted him with her deepest, darkest secret and what had _he_ done? Thrown it back in her face, like she was nothing.

He had to fix this, or at the very least, try.

He pulled up outside her house forty-five minutes later. Her car was still in the driveway. Good. He'd been hoping he wouldn't be forced to do his grovelling at the office. Simon and Duncan would have a field day.

But this wasn't about him it was about her. He would make an ass of himself a hundred times over if it would make her believe just how much she meant to him.

He knocked on the door. No answer.

He knocked again. Still no response.

Again. Nothing.

"Jen? It's me…Matt. If you're in there please open the door. There's something I need to tell you."

Something brushed against Matt's leg, causing him to jump in fright, but it was only Jen's cat Jerry, coming to investigate the noise. When Jerry realized that Matt was neither a) his mistress or b) in possession of any food, he turned tail and disappeared into the bushes at the side of the house.

Matt watched him go and as he did, something shiny caught his eye, glinting in the rising sunlight. A ring. He recognized it immediately as Jen's favourite; she never took it off.

He felt like his insides were turning to ice as he stared at it. Instincts born of years of detective work told him that something terrible had happened here last night.

He might have been able to keep a lid on his anxiety if it hadn't been for what he found next. Right there on the step, he spotted a red stain, which was unmistakeably blood.

His metaphorical knife-in-the-heart gave a violent twist. He pounded on the door once more. This couldn't be what it looked like. She was still mad at him; that was all. His training and his gut feeling both told him the truth but his heart refused to believe it.

After five more fruitless minutes, the panic building inside of him reached boiling point. It didn't matter how angry she was, she wouldn't ignore him like this, it wasn't her style.

He grabbed his mobile phone and speed-dialled her number. Voicemail.

He tried her home phone, listening to it ringing inside. Answering machine.

He left messages on both, asking her to call him as soon she received them.

Then he speed-dialled another number, the one he should've called the moment he'd thought something was wrong.

"Sarge? It's Matt. I'm at Jen's house…I think something's happened."

*****

Time passed slowly in the dark room. Pitch-black and silent, there was no way to tell if it was night or day. It could've been the Apocalypse outside and Jen would not have been any the wiser.

She was seated with her back against a wall, exhausted and afraid when a door she hadn't noticed before opened, flooding her prison with brilliant, blinding light.

Stuart stepped into the room, a maniacal grin on his face. "Good morning Jenny. Did you sleep well?"

She said nothing.

"Ah we can't have this. Didn't anyone tell you it's rude not to respond when someone's talking to you?"

She concentrated on averting her eyes away from him and keeping calm.

"Still not feeling chatty, huh? Maybe you need a little persuasion…"

From his belt he pulled out a knife. She couldn't suppress the gasp of fear that escaped from her as he approached and she kicked and scratched at him to try and stop him from coming any nearer.

Effortlessly, he pulled her to her feet as easily as if she were a rag doll and pressed the blade into her neck, just hard enough for a few droplets of blood to emerge and fall to the floor. She struggled pointlessly against his iron grip.

"I've been thinking about this moment for a very long time," he hissed into her ear. "But I could never decide whether I should kill you right away or let things…simmer a bit first."

She shuddered as he ran a hand down her body. "You've grown up to be so beautiful Jenny," he whispered. "And I _have_ been in prison for eight years. I could just _kill_-" He pressed the knife in a little harder, "-for a little companionship. What do you say?" His lips brushed against the back of her neck.

Summoning up all her strength, she managed to wrench her hand from his grasp and ran for the door. Stuart, who had been momentarily unbalanced by her sudden escape, quickly gave chase.

Hampered by her broken ribs, Jen was unable to outrun him and he soon caught up to her. He dragged her back to the room as she fought him tooth and nail for her freedom. When they reached the door, he shoved her roughly through it. She landed on the floor hard and with a sickening crack her ankle broke. Blinded by pain, she didn't realize that he had followed her in, until he knelt beside her.

"You'd better hope your friends in Homicide are good at their jobs, sweetheart, because when I'm finished with you there's not going to be anything left for them to identify."

He slashed the knife across her cheek, leaving a thin red line showing where it had been.

"I'll be back soon," he promised before exiting the room and slamming the door behind him.

She cried.

******

Matt watched as police personnel swarmed over Jen's house like flies. Yellow crime scene tape had been put over the door and forensic techs canvassed the front yard, looking for clues.

After telling the others everything he knew about Jen and Stuart, the Sarge had ordered a full search of the house for any leads as to where Stuart might have taken her.

The guilt was eating him up inside as he thought about all the terrible things Stuart might be doing to her. She could be seriously injured or dead by now and at the mercy of a psychopath with himself powerless to help her.

Simon appeared next to him, holding out a cup of coffee. He accepted it but didn't take a sip.

"How are you holding up, Mattie?" Simon asked carefully.

"This is my fault," said Matt, flatly.

"Don't be stupid, it's got nothing to do with you."

"I left her alone when I knew she was in danger, Si! I gave the bastard an opportunity to get to her!"

"Mate, you can't blame yourself for this."

In his anger, Matt threw the still-full coffee cup onto the road, where it exploded, spattering brown liquid everywhere.

"You don't get it, I _promised_ her! I swore on my life that I wouldn't let anything happen to her and instead I practically hand her over to him myself."

Simon patted his shoulder in a comforting sort of way. "We're gonna get her back," he said bracingly.

Matt nodded. "And when we do, Stuart Matthews is going to pay," he said savagely. "If he's touched a single hair on her head, I'm going to kill him myself with my bare hands." The last few words came out as a low growl.

"Take it easy," said Simon, slightly alarmed. Threats of bodily harm were usually more Duncan's territory then Matt's. "I know you're worried about Jen but is getting revenge on this guy worth you copping a suspension?"

"Yes," said Matt, without hesitation.

"Why?"

"Because I love her, Si," he said simply. "And I was just too damn gutless to tell her so."

Simon didn't seem overly surprised by this information. "Yeah, Dunny and I suspected as much. You were a goner the second you laid eyes on her."

"Yeah," he admitted. "I was. And I'll never forgive myself if I don't get the chance to tell her how I feel." His voice cracked with emotion.

Never before had Simon seen his friend so upset. Matt seemed to be breaking down before his very eyes and Simon had no idea what, if anything, he could say to help him.

So they stood in silence, watching the techs go about their work.

*****

**I'd just like to thank everybody who has been reading and reviewing this story, in particular, RyanThorpe, langfieldl and bubbles799 who have been reviewing consistently. Reviews help keep me motivated so please keep them coming!!**


	8. Lost

**Disclaimer: Not mine, wish it was. **

Helplessness was something Jennifer was not used to.

Frankly, she despised it.

It was part of the reason she'd become a cop, the knowledge that when push came to shove, she was strong enough to stand on her own two feet. It gave her comfort to know that she didn't need anyone to fight her battles for her.

And boy, had she fought.

She'd fought back against Stuart at his trial and she'd fought hard to prove herself as a woman in a man's world, and to earn the respect of her colleagues.

And now, here she was, immobilized by her broken ankle and trying hard not to scream as every breath she took created a new wave of pain from her fractured ribs.

Battered, bruised and totally alone.

Her strength gradually ebbing away, she felt more hopeless with every passing moment.

There was nothing she could do to help herself and this feeling of powerlessness was like her own personal hell.

The only thing to do was wait, and hope.

She thought of Matt. Surely he must have figured out what had happened by now. He always had her back. He wouldn't let her down when she needed him the most.

In her mind's eye, she again watched him step into the elevator, deaf to her pleas, and disappear from sight. Gone.

Lost to her forever.

No, she mustn't think like that. He was coming for her. He was.

Wasn't he?

The first niggling feelings of doubt presented themselves to her and for the first time ever, she couldn't shake them off.

*****  
Matt concentrated on keeping his temper. His nerves were already stretched to breaking point today, and he thought a few more hours in this hellhole would probably push him over the edge.

Once Forensics had finished ripping Jen's house apart, they'd all headed back to the station to officially begin the investigation, but with hardly any evidence and no leads, it seemed to Matt that it was a fool's errand. They could sit here all day talking and still be no closer to getting her back.

Personally, he was all for knocking down every door they could find until they got the right one. The inaction was driving him insane. He wouldn't be able to relax until he could see her with his own eyes. Talk to her. Hold her in his arms. Then, and only then, could he be sure that she was all right.

The other possibility, he couldn't even think about.

Simon, Duncan and the Sarge bounced theory after theory off each other, but for all the sense it made to Matt, they may as well have been talking in Swahili. He blocked out their voices until they became nothing more than a dull hum.

******

"Matt?" Simon was talking to him now, trying to get his attention.

"What?"

"C'mon, mate you look dead on your feet. You need to take a break."

Matt shook his head defiantly and pulled the closest file towards him.

Simon slammed a hand on it to keep him from opening it. "This is stupid. How do you expect to help her if you run yourself into the ground?"

Matt shrugged. "No idea. But it'll be a damn sight more useful than sitting around drinking coffee and chatting, don't you think?"

"You've already read this file twice you know."

"Maybe I missed something. Now can I have it back please?"

Simon sighed and removed his hand from the folder. "Fine. Suit yourself. You know, Jen wouldn't want you to put yourself through this."

For the first time, Matt looked up angrily and met Simon's gaze.

"Shut up!"

"What did I say?"

"You're talking about her as if she's-" He couldn't finish the sentence.

"Dead." Simon supplied. "Well for all we know, Mattie, she might be."

That was the wrong thing to say. Something snapped inside of Matt. He stood up so abruptly, the chair he'd been sitting on crashed to the floor. He advanced on Simon, who hastily backed up against the wall. Matt closed the distance between them until they were almost nose-to-nose.

"So what, you think we should just give up?"

"Of course not, I just-"

"Let me make something very clear to you Si. I am going to find her. Even if I have to sit here all day and all night rereading file after stupid file. So if you're not going to help me, just leave me alone."

Simon didn't miss the menacing tone in his friend's voice or the way his fists were clenched together so tightly his knuckles were turning white. He had seen Matt use this intimidation technique on countless suspects in the interrogation room but had never been on the receiving end of it himself. To tell the truth, he was getting a little nervous.

"What the hell is going on in here?" It took Duncan a moment to process exactly what he was seeing, but he knew he had to defuse the situation before Matt did something he would regret.

At the sound of Duncan's voice, Matt seemed to come to himself. He stepped back from Simon and the blazing anger seemed to drain away.

"I'm sorry Si," he said quietly. "Maybe I should take a break after all."

"Don't worry about it, mate." Simon forced a smile. "Go get yourself a cuppa."

Without a backward glance Matt left the room.

Simon exhaled heavily.

"You all right?" Duncan asked.

"Yeah, fine. Jesus, for a minute there I thought he was going to punch me."

"So did he, I reckon."

"Bloody hell, mate if you hadn't come in when you did…"

"I know. You're welcome."

*****

Standing at the coffeemaker, Matt could hardly believe what had just happened. What had come over him? It was like he'd been a man possessed. How else could he have been driven to doing something like threatening Simon, his friend?

"_Get a grip Ryan," _he thought. _"You won't be able to help her if everyone thinks you've turned into some anger-crazed lunatic."_

He came to a decision.

No more unleashing his pent-up anger on friends and co-workers.

Save it for Matthews.

He had to think about Jen. She needed him. He couldn't fail her.

Not again.

On that depressing note, he trudged back over to his desk.

*****

Simon and Duncan emerged from the room some minutes later, to find Matt sitting at his desk, holding a half-empty mug and gazing mournfully at the empty desk opposite him, usually occupied by Jen.

"Mattie's sure taking this hard isn't he?" Duncan observed.

Simon nodded. "Guilt will do that to you."

"God I hope we find her before it's too late," Duncan muttered in an undertone.

"Me too. And not just for her sake."

*****

Stuart stood in the doorway of the dark room and smiled with satisfaction. It would soon be time. The anticipation was driving him wild with excitement. Eight long years of planning were finally about to bear fruit. But not yet. Soon.

If her Homicide buddies were half as good as she said they were, they ought to have found the trail he'd left by now. Hell, he'd practically marked it in fluorescent paint it was so easy. Within hours, they would be breaking down the door.

He would wait until she could hear them coming, let her have a few seconds of relief that she was about to be saved.

And then he would end it.

But first there were preparations to be made.

Tonight was going to be nothing short of spectacular.

*****

"Matt! MATT!"

Simon came barrelling out of nowhere, interrupting Matt's miserable solitude. He was beaming.

"Mattie…we got something!"

"We do?"

Excitedly, Simon waved a photograph under Matt's nose. "Take a look at this."

"It's the bunch of flowers we found in her house." Matt failed to see Simon's point.

"Yeah well, we tracked down the guy who delivered them, Ernie Stavrino, from the business card."

"And?"

"He's in hospital. Apparently he was attacked last night while he was on his rounds." He paused for dramatic effect. "We checked his delivery list for last night. Jen's name wasn't on it."

"So you think Matthews attacked this guy for a bunch of flowers?" Matt asked, dubiously.

"And a way to get Jen to open the door. But anyway that's not the best part. We got Forensics to run some tests on Stavrino's clothes and they found traces of oil and grease. It turns out there's an old abandoned car warehouse just across the road from Laddita's and the evidence puts Stavrino there."

"So?"

"So! Old abandoned warehouse Mattie! If I were going to kidnap someone, a place like that is where I'd take them."

Matt perked up. "You think Jen's there?"

"That's where he held Stavrino. Stands to reason that Jen might be there too."

Matt was on his feet in a flash. Finally, a lead, a solid lead that might get him to her.

"Let's go."

**I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I had a little writer's block. Please review with your comments. In the next chapter, Stuart and Matt will finally meet!!! **


	9. Shattered

**Disclaimer: Once again, I would like to affirm that I own nothing affiliated with City Homicide. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while and promise to put them back when I'm finished with them.**

The tension in the car was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Nobody had said a word since they'd left the police station for the half-hour drive to the warehouse.

In the back seat Matt watched the world flick by as he thought about what was to come. It could be a hoax or a dead end but his gut told him that this was the real thing. It also told him that something was a little off about the whole situation.

It had been too easy. The evidence may as well have been gift-wrapped for them and the odds of finding such a solid lead so early in the investigation were close to astronomical. As far as he could see, there were only two possibilities that might explain their good luck.

Either Stuart was getting sloppy or he'd wanted them to find him. He was inclined to believe it was the latter rather than the former, as Jen had been adamant that Stuart was far too clever to be so careless.

His thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt as he felt the car ease to a stop. As they got out he looked over the building before them. Row upon row of boarded up windows were visible as well as a few broken doors. The brickwork was crumbling all over the place. It looked like it had been abandoned for a very long time.

As he studied it, he felt his confidence diminish a little. It would take them forever to search it and when if ever, they came upon Jen there was a strong possibility they would be too late. They had to work fast.

Stanley it transpired was thinking along the same lines.

"OK team, we've got a lot of ground to cover and time is of the essence so we're going to split up. Matt, Duncan you two will enter through this door." He pointed to it. "Simon, you'll come with me and we will go in through the back door." He raised his voice to address the uniformed cops he had requested as back up. "The rest of you will remain out here and secure the perimeter. Nobody gets past you. Is that clear?"

There was a murmur of general assent.

"Good. Get yourselves into position." He turned back to his team.

"Keep in contact while you're searching and watch each other's backs. Jennifer is our top priority so we get in, we locate her and we get her out safely before we do _anything_ else. Understood?"

Matt had a feeling the last part of that statement had been directed at him, but he said nothing. He would do as he was told and if he should happen to run across Stuart Matthews along the way, well so much the better.

They all drew their weapons

"Good luck everybody," said Stanley. "Let's get to it."

*****

Alerted by the sound of cars, Stuart watched from a room high above their heads.

So the cavalry had arrived. Unfortunately that meant Jenny's life was now rapidly drawing to a close.

She'd been very brave; he'd give her that. She'd never stopped fighting him this whole time and she'd done her best not to let any of her fear show. But he'd broken her down in the end.

And now it was time to satisfy the urge he'd been carrying for eight long years.

*****

Together, Matt and Duncan made their way through the eerily silent warehouse, guns at the ready. So far they'd found nothing, but Matt was sure that they were getting close. He could feel it.

Sudden movement caused them both to spin quickly around, aiming their weapons at a corner.

A squeaking sound informed them that the intruder was a mouse.

"Christ," Duncan said quietly. "Damn thing almost gave me a heart attack."

"A little jumpy, eh Dunny?"

"Shut up Matt. You were just as bad," Duncan growled. "C'mon let's keep moving. This place gives me the creeps."

Above their heads there was another noise. Footsteps.

Their eyes drifted up to the ceiling.

"That sure isn't a mouse," said Matt and he lead the way out of the room.

******

Jen opened her eyes to be overwhelmed by the smell of petrol all around her. Stuart was walking around the room, splashing copious amounts of the fuel onto the floor. She was in a different room now, illuminated by electric lights so bright that they hurt her eyes.

"What are you doing?" she asked, hating how small her voice sounded.

"Why hello sweetheart. You must've drifted off."

"If by drifted off, you mean been beaten into unconsciousness by you, then sure I must have."

He grinned. "Oh don't be that way, Jenny. We shouldn't fight, especially when we've only got a few minutes left together."

"What do you mean?"

He put down the empty petrol can. "It's been fun, giving you what you deserve, but as they say, all good things must come to an end."

He grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her to her feet. The silver blade of the knife flashed in the light.

"I'm sorry we had to end things like this, Jenny. I really am."

He pulled her towards him, into a violent kiss and as she struggled to pull away, the hand holding the knife was thrust hard into her abdomen. The metal ripped through her flesh. Once. Twice. Three times.

She screamed in agony as blood began spilling from her wounds and she dropped to the floor like a stone. So this was it. The end. She found her imminent death did not upset her nearly as much as the fact that she would never see Matt again. He would never know how much she loved him. If only she could see him one last time. Her eyes fluttered closed.

******

The blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the warehouse and Matt froze in place. His mind was blank, his body paralysed by horror at what he had just heard. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. He could barely breathe.

"Jen…" he managed to say.

Duncan appeared at his shoulder. "Matt, wake up! We've gotta get up there. Now."

Matt didn't need telling twice. He left Duncan far behind him as he raced towards the origin of the noise, taking the stairs three at a time. He found himself in a corridor lined with doors. He saw a faint glimmer of light underneath the crack of a door at the very end. He ran to it and kicked it down, not even bothering to stop.

As it crashed to the floor he finally saw it. The sight he had been dreading more than any other.

*****

"Jen! Jen! Oh God no…"

As the world got darker and darker, the sound of Matt's voice was suddenly crystal clear.

"No, no, please just open your eyes…"

It really wasn't fair. Wasn't dying bad enough already, without her mind playing tricks on her too? She'd wanted to see him so badly she'd imagined he was there, trying to save her. But it couldn't be true.

"Come on, Jen. I know you're stronger than this, don't you give up on me…"

The hallucination was remarkably realistic. She could have sworn he was right next to her.

"Please, Jen you can't die, I know you can hear me. Just open your eyes."

If it would rid her of this cruel illusion, she would open her eyes, just for a second to prove to herself that he really was not there.

She summoned up the last of her strength.

******

Matt thought he felt Jen stir feebly as he cradled her, one hand applying pressure to the worst of the stab wounds. There was so much blood. Too much. She had to be dying.

He felt his heart splitting into two as her blood stained his suit a deep shade of crimson, the love of his life slipping away from him even as he held her in his own arms.

"Jen you have to hang on for me, I can't lose you. Please don't die. Please."

To his amazement, her eyes slowly opened.

"Matt…" she croaked.

"Jen!"

"You…came."

"Shhhh, don't try to speak, save your strength." He kissed her forehead. "It's gonna be OK, I'm gonna take care of you."

Her eyes began to close again.

"No! No! Stay with me Jen. Please. Don't leave me…"

*****

"How romantic."

Matt started as the new voice rang out. Stuart Matthews was leaning on the doorframe, watching the scene with a grin on his face.

Hatred like Matt had never known before coursed through him as he beheld the monster that was murdering the woman he loved. Had it not involved letting go of her, he would have jumped right up and torn him limb from limb.

"You…"

The grin widened. "I must say this is an unexpected bonus. Here I thought you'd all just be mad I was killing a fellow cop but instead I get this beautiful outpouring of emotion. How wonderful."

"If she dies…"

"You'll kill me I'm sure," said Stuart smoothly. "Oh well, got to go sometime, as dear Jenny is currently discovering." Matt saw the malice in his eyes as he examined his victim.

Fury consumed Matt from the inside as he gently laid Jen on the ground and with his free hand, reached for his gun, aiming for Stuart who calmly stood his ground. He pulled something out of his pocket. A cigarette lighter.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said conversationally. "You see, there's accelerant all over this room and if I drop this, well things are going to get hot in here."

"You bastard,"

"You and I might be fast enough to get away before the place goes up but, as for the lovely Detective Mapplethorpe it might be another story."

"Why did you do this to her?"

"She should have kept her mouth shut, then none of this would have happened…"

There was a nasty cracking sound and Stuart fell to the floor, blood streaming from where Duncan had just hit him with a wooden plank. He threw it aside as he rushed into the room.

"Mattie! Are you OK?"

"I'm fine. But Jen, she's bad, she's really bad…" Matt spluttered.

"How bad?"

"She's been stabbed, Dunny. Multiple times. We've got to get her some help right away."

"Does she have a pulse?"

Matt groped for her wrist.

"It's weak," he said, voice shaking. "But it's there."

Duncan went pale as he saw the blood pooling around Jen's body. "The Sarge has called an ambulance. It…it should be here by now."

"OK," Matt forced himself to keep calm. "I'll carry her, you bring this scumbag-" He looked down at Stuart,"-and meet me outside."

"OK. Get going."

As gently as he could, Matt picked up Jen, making sure not to relieve the pressure on the wounds and hurried for the door.

On the way out, he resisted the temptation to give Stuart a good hard kick in the face. There'd be plenty of time for that later. Right now, Jen was depending on him.

******

Matt pounded down the staircase, trying to move quickly but not jostle her too much at the same time. Her life was literally in his hands now and the thought of losing her after only just finding her again made him want to throw up. But there was no time for that now. He had to save her.

Incredibly, he felt her move again in his arms.

"Matt?"

"Don't worry, Jen we're almost there, you're gonna be fine. You're gonna be just fine."

He wasn't sure whom he was trying to convince.

"Matt," she said hoarsely. "If I don't make it…"

"Don't talk like that, you're going to be OK."

"Listen to me please. If I don't make it, I want you to know…I love you. Always have."

Matt had always envisioned a somewhat different scenario when it came to exchanging "I love you's" for the first time, but he'd take what he could get.

"Love you too, Jen," he said quietly. "More than you could possibly imagine."

He wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but he thought he saw her smile for a moment, before falling unconscious once more.

At that moment, they burst out of the warehouse into blinding sunlight. Matt could hear sirens wailing and voices yelling but ignored it all as he looked for an ambulance. Within moments, two paramedics appeared by his side, wheeling a gurney but as they tried to prise her from his arms, he held on tighter.

"Matt." His Sarge's voice appeared from somewhere to the left. "Let her go."

He shook his head.

"They'll take good care of her, but you have to let them do their jobs. Let her go."

Wordlessly, he obeyed, loosening his grip. He felt the warmth of her body part company with his own and heard the squeal of the wheels as they wheeled her away to the ambulance.

Ripping her away from him.

******

As the ambulance screamed away, his hands, he now realized, were stained with her blood.

The macabre sight made him retch in disgust. Looking around, he saw a tap a few metres away. He turned it on and scrubbed at his hands, trying to wash away the blood on them. But it wouldn't budge.

The blood on his hands simply would not go away.

**So what did you think? Review please! In the next chapter, Jen's life hangs in the balance and Matt and Stuart face off in the interrogation room!**


	10. Faithless

**Disclaimer: Stuart Matthews is mine everything else is not. It belongs to Channel 7.**

**Rating and pairing are the same.**

**Enjoy!**

The siren of the ambulance could still be heard wailing in the distance as the warehouse door opened once again. Duncan came out, accompanied by a handcuffed and disoriented Stuart. It seemed he was having trouble walking; he kept stumbling and losing his footing. Duncan hadn't bothered to try and stop the bleeding from Stuart's head wound so it was still seeping steadily.

Duncan marched him to a nearby police car and opened the back door. There was a dull thud as Stuart's head smacked against the car roof; apparently Duncan had 'forgotten' to tell him to lower his head as he got in. Duncan caught Matt's eye and they exchanged smirks.

"_You think you're in pain now? _Matt thought, with satisfaction. _"Just wait until I get through with you, you son of a bitch."_

******

Back at the station, Matt quickly ducked into the men's room while Stuart was being fingerprinted and processed. He thought he looked like something out of a bad slasher flick when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He still had her blood all over his hands and his shirt and jacket were stained with it.

The sight brought back a vivid flashback. Jen, motionless in his arms. So weak, so vulnerable. Dying.

No.

He had to focus now. All his energy needed to go into bringing down Stuart Matthews. Stuart had been there. He knew that Matt's feelings for Jen were far beyond the professional and Stuart could use that knowledge as a weapon against him.

Matt knew that if he was going to get Stuart to talk, he had to keep his feelings out of it. Never mind the fact that he was so worried about her he was having trouble breathing. He could ignore the all-encompassing fear that threatened to consume him if he lost her. For now.

Just for now, he had to put her out of his mind.

No matter how badly it hurt.

*****

Half an hour later, wearing a clean shirt and having _finally _managed to get rid of the blood on his hands, Matt entered the interrogation room with Duncan.

Stuart was already there, the gash on his forehead now cleaned and bandaged. He smiled as they entered. "Ah," he said with his eyes on Matt. "I was hoping it would be you."

"What, no personal greeting for me?" asked Duncan. "Now I'm feeling a little unwanted."

Matt said nothing as he took his seat.

"How's Jenny doing?" Stuart asked, grinning.

"That's _Detective Mapplethorpe_ to you," said Duncan, sharply. "Last we heard she was still in surgery."

"I'm sure you're all hoping she'll pull through." He turned to Matt. "Especially you, Detective…?"

"Ryan," he answered shortly. " And I'm sure I don't need to remind you that it is also in_ your_ best interests that she survive." He looked down at the piece of paper in front of him. "You've been charged with stalking, intimidation, kidnapping, assault and battery, breaking and entering, assault police, resisting arrest, attempted murder-"

"Fraud, car theft, attempted arson-" Duncan chimed in.

"And there's also the small matter of escaping from a federal prison," Matt concluded. "You're already looking at 35 years minimum. Add a murder charge into the mix and well, what do you think Dunny?"

"Might be eligible for parole in say, 50 years maybe? If you're lucky."

Stuart looked calmly back at them. They might as well have been commenting on the day's weather.

"Looks pretty bad, huh?"

"Pretty bad…" Duncan agreed.

"Just one question. How much of that stuff can you actually prove?"

"Enough to send you to jail for quite a long time, Mr Matthews."

"I see. I suppose this is the part where you offer to knock a few years off my sentence in exchange for a full confession, is that right?"

"No way," said Matt, trying to keep his voice steady. "You tried to kill a cop and we get a little cranky when it's one of our own. Ergo, no deals."

The grin came back in full force. "Are you quite certain about that, Detective Ryan? I dare say not everyone is quite as _invested_ in this case as you are."

"Wanna bet?" Duncan said angrily.

"Well, then she's very lucky to have such loyal friends. If she wakes up I'm sure she'll be very appreciative.

"_When_ she wakes up," Matt corrected tersely. "She isn't going to die."

"If you say so. Personally, I'm not convinced. I did a pretty good job on her."

The anger that Matt had been trying so hard to push down came bubbling up to the surface once again.

"You'd better hope that Detective Mapplethorpe survives or else I intend to make life very, very difficult for you," he snarled at Stuart.

"Oh spare me your righteous anger, I'm not the only one to blame here."

"Is that so?" Duncan asked sceptically.

"Oh yes. You see it was really due to Detective Ryan here that I got my chance."

"What?"

Stuart turned to Matt, malicious glint in his eyes. "I was parked outside the station and I overheard some cops talking about how she'd gotten into a huge fight with some other detective and how obvious it was that you two were in love with each other, and then lo and behold, you appeared. I recognised you from my surveillance and from the way they quickly stopped talking, I guessed that they were talking about you."

"So?" said Matt.

"Well when Detective Mapplethorpe came down later she was crying. Whatever you said to her, you broke her heart."

He paused to let this sink in. Matt tried not to let his guilt show.

"Go on," he prompted.

"Well I followed her home as usual and when she got out of the car she sat on the lawn for ages and ages, just crying. She was so upset about you that her guard was down. All I had to do was take her, it was just too good to miss."

******

Duncan felt Matt stiffen beside him.

"Don't rise," he hissed. "You don't want to give him the satisfaction."

"Really Detective Ryan," Stuart went on. "If it weren't for you I might never have gotten to her. So…thanks."

Something about the way he said it made Matt's blood boil with rage. He was so angry it felt like someone else rose from his seat and lunged across the table. Someone else's fist smashed into Stuart's face and with a terrible crunch, broke his nose.

"Mattie, no!" Duncan grabbed him from behind as Matt drew back to throw another punch.

The door crashed open and a cacophony of voices began shouting all at once, combining with Stuart's moans of pain and Duncan's grunts as he fought to restrain Matt.

"Get him out of here!" somebody yelled and Matt felt himself being dragged towards the door, away from the flurry of activity.

For the second time today, Matt looked at his hand to see it covered with blood that was not his own. But this time, rather then turning his stomach, he felt nothing but grim satisfaction.

Duncan shoved him roughly against the wall just outside the interrogation room.

"Have you gone insane?!" he demanded. "What the bloody hell was that?"

"I knew it was my fault- "

"He was trying to get under your skin, Mattie and it worked perfectly! Do you have any idea how much trouble you're going to be in?"

"Who cares?" said Matt angrily. "Just let me go back in there so I can finish him off."

"Don't be an idiot-"

"Detective Ryan!" Stanley Wolfe's voice thundered from the doorway to the interrogation room. "My office. Now!"

*******

An irate Stanley ushered Matt into his office and slammed the door behind them.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't suspend you right now."

"He provoked me, Sarge! Didn't you hear what he said?"

"It was a ploy Matt, he wanted you to hit him. Now he can slap an assault charge on you and discredit you at the same time."

"So?"

"So your testimony in this case is now going to count for absolutely nothing! All his defense lawyer has to do is mention this assault and make it look like you have a grudge against him and no jury will believe a word that comes out of your mouth!"

"We've got evidence and Jen will be able to give testimony when she wakes up…"

Stanley's voice softened.

"But Matt, what if she doesn't?"

Anger flared up yet again.

"Why is everyone so convinced that she isn't going to make it? Jen is strong. She's going to pull through this thing. I know she is! It's like you guys don't even want her to wake up!"

"Enough! I will not be spoken to like that in my own office. I understand that you are under a lot of pressure at present, but I am still your superior and expect to be treated accordingly. Understood?"

"Yes," Matt grumbled.

"Good. Now as for how we are going to handle this issue, as of this instant you are on stress leave."

"What? No Sarge!"

"That is not a suggestion Detective Ryan. Until I am confident that you can conduct yourself appropriately, you're taking some time off."

"But-"

"Perhaps I haven't made myself clear. It's either stress leave or suspension. Take your pick."

"Fine," said Matt, grudgingly.

"Wise decision, Matt. While you're away, I'll see if I can smooth things over. Your record is clean up to now, that should work in your favour-"

*******

"Sarge?" Simon's voice called through the door.

"Not now Simon," said Stanley, dismissively.

"But Sarge the hospital just called. Jen's out of surgery."

Stanley opened the door.

"How is she?" asked Matt.

Simon looked troubled. "Apparently there were some complications. It took them a while to stop the bleeding and one of her broken ribs almost punctured a lung."

"Oh Christ…" Matt breathed.

"They've done the best they can, but her doctor says the next 24-48 hours are going to be critical."

"OK. Thank you Simon," said Stanley quietly.

Simon nodded once, and left.

Stanley turned to Matt, who looked visibly shaken by the news.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes…I mean, no…I mean, I don't know! Nobody should ever be all right after hearing something like that."

"Getting back to what we were discussing before, your leave is effective immediately so gather your things and head home. I'll sort out the paperwork."

"I'm not going home."

"Matt," Stanley sighed.

"No I mean I'm going to the hospital. She-she shouldn't be alone when she wakes up."

"OK. Call if there's any news."

"Will do."

Matt turned to leave.

"Matt?"

He turned back around to face his boss.

"I'll be praying for her."

"Me too, Sarge. Me too."

*******

Matt wasn't quite prepared for the confronting sight that greeted him when he entered Jen's hospital room. Machines were everywhere, beeping and whirring and somewhere in the middle of them all was Jen, looking unusually small and so still.

He approached her bedside and choked back a tear as he tenderly traced a finger around a bruise on her forehead.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "Baby, I'm so, so sorry."

He felt another twinge of sadness mingled with the bizarre desire to laugh, as he imagined what she would say if she ever caught him giving her pet names.

He bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

Unfortunately, this was not a fairytale and the beautiful princess did not magically awaken at the touch of true love's first kiss.

In this story, she simply slept on.

Pulling up a chair to the side of her bed, Matt settled in for what he suspected was going to be a long stay. He carefully took one of her hands in his own and entwined his fingers with hers so the second she awoke, she would know he was there with her.

All there was to do now was wait.

The rhythmic humming of the machines was irritating, breaking the silence with their consistent noise but he was grateful for them all the same; the mechanical, alien things were keeping her alive.

But faith and love were the only things that could truly bring her back to him.

That, he was sure of.

**I'm sorry this one took so long. I had a lot of difficulty with it, as it was hard to keep everybody in character. Do you think I did? I would appreciate any comment on that or anything else you like. **

**All the police stuff, charges and prison terms and so on, may not be 100% accurate but it should come fairly close.**

**In the next chapter, we find out if our heroine will survive to fight crime another day!!!**


	11. Pleasure and Pain

**Disclaimer: Stuart + Joyce the nurse = mine. Everything else = not.**

**There are some minor suggestive themes in this chapter but nothing explicit mostly includes extreme levels of fluff. You have been warned.**

Time seemed to become irrelevant as Matt kept vigil by Jen's side. Simon, Duncan and Stanley visited occasionally, doctors and nurses flitted in and out and other people he vaguely recognised from work ducked their heads in if they were passing through the hospital on other business.

Later Matt would find out that he sat there for a total of four days but it felt like an eternity as he watched over her. He sometimes overheard the nurses talking about them; saying how lucky she was to have someone so devoted and how terrible it would be if she didn't pull through. "The Couple in Room 314" became the hottest topic of gossip in the hospital that week.

And still he sat, and waited.

******

The world seemed to have taken on a fuzzy texture Jen thought, as her eyes drifted open. She was in an unfamiliar room with a sort of unnatural brightness that made her head throb even more than it was already.

She blinked a few times and her vision started to focus. She saw bare white walls, a small square window and a TV bolted to the wall. A hospital. So she wasn't dead. That was comforting to know.

She tried to move her hand but found she couldn't as it was clasped in someone else's. Strange. She turned her head, ignoring the redoubled pain and saw that her mystery visitor was Matt, sprawled uncomfortably in a hospital chair, dozing.

For a few seconds, she didn't hurt at all.

With a click, the door opened and a nurse with straight blonde hair and brown eyes entered the room. Seeing her patient was awake, she smiled.

"Well look who's back in the land of the living! How are you feeling, honey?"

"Sore."

The nurse looked at her sympathetically. "Painkillers haven't kicked in yet?"

"Apparently not."

The nurse reached for the medical chart at the bottom of the bed. "I'll talk to Dr Harper about upping your dosage." Her gaze fell on Matt and she smiled fondly.

"That man of yours hasn't left your bedside since you got here, you know."

"Really?" asked Jen in surprise.

"Not once. You're a lucky woman."

Their quiet conversation woke Matt, whose slightly bemused expression quickly turned to joy as he saw Jen smiling back at him.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed.

"You didn't think you were getting rid of me that easily, did you?"

He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, as his smile disappeared.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, I thought I'd lost you."

She squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"I'm OK. Thanks to you."

The nurse cleared her throat. "I'll just go see about those painkillers, sugar. Buzz if you need anything. My name's Joyce."

She retreated from the room, leaving Matt and Jennifer by themselves.

******

They sat in a slightly uncomfortable silence, remembering the last conversation they'd had in the warehouse, involving the use of the 'L' word. Neither was quite sure how to broach the subject, so instead, Jen settled for a more neutral topic.

"It's the middle of the day, why aren't you at work?"

"I wanted to be here when you woke up."

"And the Sarge was OK with you taking time off to sit around and do nothing?" she asked doubtfully.

"He was fine with it. Encouraged it, even."

"Why?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Well…I'm kind of on suspension," he admitted. "But we're calling it 'stress leave.'"

"Suspension? What for?"

He looked away guiltily. "While we were interrogating Matthews, I sort of lost it…and I punched him."

"Oh Matt," she sighed.

"He asked for it!" he said defensively. "We hadn't heard from the hospital yet and I thought you were dying and I let the bastard get the better of me. I just snapped and broke his nose."

"What on earth did he say to you that got you so angry?"

"You have no idea how much stress I've been under the last few days! Especially knowing that it was my fault he got to you in the first place-"

"Don't be ridiculous, it was not your fault."

"Wasn't it? You needed my help and I abandoned you when I knew you were in danger. I'm never going to forgive myself for that." He couldn't meet her eyes as he said all this, so deeply was he ashamed.

"Matt, look at me," she requested.

Slowly, he acquiesced.

"This is not your fault," she said clearly. "I don't blame you in any way. Besides if anyone's at fault here it's me. Just like you said, I was being too damn stubborn for my own good. And look where's it landed me. I never would've gotten through this without you, and I'll never be able to thank you enough."

"You're alive," Matt said, smiling. "That's good enough for me." He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it, sending a pleasant tingling sensation all through her body. Enough avoidance, she had to know if he felt about her the same way she felt about him.

"Matt, you remember back in the warehouse when I said…you know?"

He froze, knowing precisely what she was getting at.

"_Please don't be taking it back," _he silently begged her.

"And I thought I heard you say it back. Did you mean it, or did you just say so because you thought I was dying?"

Abruptly, he let go of her hand and rose from his seat. The expression on his face was unreadable.

Humiliated, Jen quickly tried to backtrack.

"Don't worry, I probably heard wrong anyway, I was a little distressed. I'm sorry, forget I even said it, it was stupid-"

"Jen, shut up," he said quietly and she immediately fell silent.

"Do you honestly think I'd lie to you about something like that?"

She felt her pulse rate begin to quicken as he leaned slowly towards her, giving her time to pull away if she wanted to, hoping to God that she wouldn't.

Their lips met in a tender kiss that steadily grew more passionate as their uncertainties fell away. It was everything a first kiss should be and both were equally sorry to have to end it when the need for oxygen became too great.

"Apparently, I didn't make myself clear the first time," said Matt, staring straight into her eyes. "So I'll tell you again. I love you. I've been totally, madly, head-over-heels in love with you since the day I met you and with every day that goes by I love you even more. I can't imagine my life without you, and if you hadn't made it through these last few days, I 'm not sure if I would've coped. Get the picture now?"

A thrill like Jen had never experienced before took over her senses. Nobody had ever said something so wonderful to her in all her life. She wanted to leap up and fling her arms around him, but her broken ribs and ankle made that impossible. Instead, she smiled coyly at him.

"Not quite. Maybe you should show me again."

Matt was only too happy to oblige and the next half-hour passed blissfully.

It was all too soon when Matt regretfully broke off yet another kiss and pulled back.

"I should go."

"Why? It's not like you have to get to work or anything."

She leaned in for another kiss, which he couldn't refuse her and conversation stopped for a time, until he managed to conjure up the self-restraint to pull away again.

"I need to let the others know that you're OK, they've been worried about you too."

"Can't you just call them?"

"No I want to see if they've got Matthews to confess yet."

"That can wait."

"No it can't. And anyway, you need to rest."

"Rest? I've been in a coma for God knows how long and you think I need more rest?"

"Yes," he said firmly. "You've still got a lot of healing to do."

"Well how do you know this isn't helping me?" she asked before capturing his lips again.

Another few minutes of silence before Matt broke it off for the third time.

"I mean it Jen! You need to take it easy."

"Oh you're such a tease," she complained, settling back on her pillows.

He grinned at her. "Trust me, there'll be plenty more where that came from when you get better. Until then-" he leaned back down and gave her a quick peck on the lips, "-get some sleep."

"Fine," she said, grumpily.

"See you later."

Matt felt happier then he had in years. Not so long ago, he would never in his wildest dreams have imagined that he might actually have a shot with his gorgeous co-worker, and now here they were, making out like teenagers on a hospital bed. Life was good.

He was halfway to the door when she called him back.

"Matt?"

"What is it?"

"This whole knight-in–shining-armour routine is kind of a turn-on you know." she said, with a smirk.

Matt groaned as wave after wave of inappropriate thoughts flooded his subconscious.

"Thanks a lot."

"Hey, you won't give me what I want, so I'm just evening the playing field a little."

He sighed.

"You are going to be the death of me, woman. You know that, right?"

"Love you too," she replied, innocently.

Chuckling to himself, Matt left.

******

He returned several hours later in fresh clothes and with Duncan and Simon in tow. The latter two brought with them an enormous bouquet of flowers (_not_ from Laddita Flowers Delivered) and a family-sized block of her favourite dark chocolate.

"Thanks guys," she said gratefully. "How come _you_ didn't bring me any presents?" she jokingly asked of Matt.

"Clearly he doesn't care about you as much as we do," said Duncan off-handedly. Simon snorted at this, which prompted everyone else to burst out laughing. Over the heads of the other two, Jen caught the eye of Matt, who winked at her and the tingling feeling from earlier came back with a vengeance.

Once they had regained control of themselves (Joyce the nurse had come by twice to tell them to keep it down) Duncan became serious.

"The Sarge said to pass along his best wishes. He's sorry he couldn't come himself but he's a little tied up with the Matthews case."

"That's OK. Tell him thank you."

"No worries. It's good to see you smiling again, it hasn't been the same at work without you."

"Oh don't get too gushy Dunny, people will start thinking you actually have a heart!" Simon piped up, thereby breaking the moment.

Matt and Jen's laughter couldn't quite cover up Simon's yelp of pain when Duncan punched him in the arm.

The boys stayed for another hour until Joyce came in a third time to order them to get out; visiting hours were now over.

"You can stay as long as you like honey," she said to Matt, which of course prompted a stream of innuendo-filled jokes from Duncan and Simon the moment she left the room.

They lingered just long enough to torture Matt so thoroughly he expressed a desire to get his hands on a gun and shoot them, before each kissing Jen on the cheek and heading out the door.

"See you tomorrow, Mattie?" Simon asked.

Matt nodded.

"You're going back to work?" Jen asked, after Simon and Duncan had departed.

"Yeah. The Sarge wants me to have another crack at Stuart, see if he's more inclined to talk now he knows his big plan failed."

"I'm surprised he's allowing that, given what happened last time…"

"I promised I'd be on my best behaviour."

"Of course there are no guarantees Stuart is going to play ball."

He shrugged. "It's only himself he's hurting if he doesn't. We've got nothing to lose."

She yawned in response.

"You didn't sleep today, did you?" he accused.

"I tried, but every time I closed my eyes I just saw _him_, coming to finish me off."

"I can fix that."

Matt climbed carefully up onto the bed and, mindful of her broken ribs wrapped his arms around her, holding her as close as he could without hurting her.

"Does this help?"

She relaxed into his warm embrace; enjoying the feeling of security it gave her.

"Marginally. Guess you are good for something after all. Who knew?"

"Funny. If that's how you're going to be about it, I'll stop."

"No!"

"Then shut it and go to sleep."

There was a peaceful silence.

"Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"Love you too, Jen. Now will you please settle down, or I'll call the nurse and tell her to give you something."

"OK, OK! We've been together less than 12 hours and you're already bossing me around," she said affectionately.

"And you're already driving me crazy! Do you always have to have the last word?"

"Yes. Guess this relationship's going downhill fast."

They both chuckled and Matt reached over to switch off the light. Darkness fell and they didn't talk anymore.

**I know this chapter wasn't exactly in keeping with the rest of the story but I thought I'd cut Mattie a break for this one. A little happiness to balance out the doom and gloom. **

**Never fear, angst is back on the menu in the next chapter. Matt vs. Stuart round two. Ding ding! Who will prevail?**


	12. Checkmate

**Disclaimer: Anything recognizable does not belong to me.**

**Pairing: The same.**

**Rating: Still T, mostly due to swearing.**

*******

"Are you sure you'll be OK? I can get someone else to take the interview if you want me to."

"Matt, if you ask me that one more time, then so help me…"

Jen sighed in exasperation, not bothering to finish the threat. This was the fourth time Matt had posed this question in the last ten minutes and it was beginning to wear on her nerves.

It was morning, and Matt was experiencing a touch of separation anxiety as he prepared to leave for the day. Try as he might, he couldn't quite get rid of the worries about leaving her alone after what had happened last time.

"Do you blame me for being a little nervous?"

"A little nervous? You're being completely ridiculous, not to mention totally irrational. I'm in a hospital for God's sake, not skulking around a dark alley at midnight. I'll be perfectly safe."

"I know but-"

"Matt you need to do this. I think you're the only person who can get through to Stuart. I need him to own up to what he did to me and I need you to make that happen. Please. Do it for me."

On the last few words, her voice cracked and Matt appreciated how truly important this was to her.

"OK."

********

The door opened, and Joyce bustled in. "Good morning you two. How's my favourite patient this morning?"

"Annoyed," said Jen, curtly.

Joyce looked sternly at Matt. "You'd better not be upsetting her. She needs her rest." But there was a smile playing at her lips.

Turning to Jen, she held up two saline bags. "Painkillers and an antibiotic, as ordered by Dr Harper. I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

"No," said Jen pointedly, "Matt was just on his way out. Weren't you?"

Matt knew he was beaten. That was his Jen all right. Stubborn as hell.

Reluctantly, he nodded and leaned down for a quick kiss. "See you soon."

"Go nail him. I expect details when you get back."

"Yes ma'am."

Joyce was busy connecting the fresh bags to the IV line, but she glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of Matt's anxious face as he paused by the door.

"Don't you worry, honey. I promise I'll take good care of her."

"I know. Thanks Joyce."

"Just doing my job. Now get out of here, your girlfriend is in good hands."

Matt obeyed, grinning. His girlfriend. He liked the sound of that.

As he walked down the corridor, Joyce's voice floated after him, talking to Jen.

"Sweetie if you ever decide you've had enough of him, you give me a call. I could use someone like him in my life."

He heard Jen laugh. "Sometimes he drives me up the wall but honestly, I don't know what I'd do without him. "

*******

Two hours later, Matt found himself in the interrogation room waiting for Stuart to arrive. Beside him, Simon rearranged his files.

"You ready for this, Mattie?"

"You bet. Let's get this bastard."

"All for one and bugger the rest, right?"

"Right."

The door swung open and in came a guard leading a handcuffed Stuart along with a thin man in an expensive-looking suit. To Matt's satisfaction, Stuart's nose was oddly distorted and swollen, with heavy bruising all around it, but this did little to diminish the wave of hatred that suddenly coursed through him.

Stuart addressed Matt as he and the other man took their seats. The guard watched them carefully and then went out.

"Good morning Detective Ryan," he said easily. "Nice to see you again."

"Always a pleasure Mr Matthews," Matt hissed through gritted teeth.

Stuart's eye fell upon Simon. "I don't believe we've met."

"Simon Joyner. Who's your friend?"

Stuart carelessly indicated the man sitting on his left.

"This is Graham Cassidy, my lawyer."

Matt nodded disinterestedly and turned his attention to Stuart. "All right Mr Matthews there's no point beating about the bush. We're here to formally charge you for your crimes-"

"On what basis?" Cassidy interjected abruptly.

"On the testimony of Detective Senior Constable Jennifer Mapplethorpe, whom you'll be pleased to know, Mr Matthews, is well on the way to a full recovery."

Matt couldn't resist shooting a satisfied smirk at Stuart as he said this.

True to form, if this information bothered Stuart, he didn't show it, keeping his face impassive as ever.

Cassidy cut in once again. "It is my understanding that Detective Mapplethorpe has yet to make an official statement. Doesn't it seem a bit premature to lay charges off the back of a testimony, that legally, does not yet exist?"

"Just a formality at this point, Mr Cassidy," said Matt, echoing the attorney's cool, detached tone. "We've got more than enough evidence for the time being. Physical evidence, witness statements and so on."

"One of these witnesses being yourself, correct?"

"Yes."

"You also being the same person who _assaulted _my client in this very room during your last interrogation, while being video monitored I might add."

Matt swallowed. "True."

"And my client also tells me that you seem to be quite taken with Detective Mapplethorpe."

Matt didn't respond to this accusation.

"So Detective, do you think it would be terribly unfair to say that you might be a tad biased on this issue? That you might be using my client as a scapegoat in your personal vendetta for revenge?"

Matt opened his mouth to reply but Simon got in first.

"What we think isn't the concern here. The point is we have solid physical evidence of your client's involvement in these crimes."

"On the contrary, your opinions matter a great deal to this case, and what exactly is this physical evidence we keep hearing about?"

Simon laid out photographs of the knife, the cigarette lighter, the flowers, the note, the empty can of petrol. Cassidy looked over them with a polite contempt.

"Circumstantial at best. Have you found any fingerprints, or anything that might tie my client to these items?"

"Not as yet. We're still waiting on the results."

"I see. So you have nothing but the word of Detective Mapplethorpe, who by her own admission was disoriented for much of her ordeal and with no _credible-" _He shot Matt a nasty look. "-witness to corroborate her story, you would really risk taking this to court?"

Stuart grinned at them, smugly. "See why I keep him around? Best in the business."

Matt glared coldly back at him. "Fine. You want a charge? Let's begin with your escape from prison. That should give us grounds to hold you here for a while. Or you could save us all a lot of time and confess."

"Confess to what? I haven't done anything wrong."

"Oh yes you bloody well have! You kidnapped a police officer, tortured her and tried to kill her. You know it. We know it. And I swear I'm going to have you convicted for it if it's the last thing I ever do!"

"I'd rein that temper in if I were you, Detective Ryan. One of these days, it's going to get you into trouble."

How Matt wanted to punch him again or better yet, shoot him. But this time he would not be broken. He couldn't let Stuart win. Jen was counting on him. He'd promised her.

******

After another hour of interrogation, resulting in nothing, Stanley who had been watching decided it was time to pull the plug.

Smiling, Stuart rose from his chair as the guard arrived to escort him out.

"I can't tell you how much I enjoy these little chats of ours, Detectives, but it looks like I have to be going."

Simon laid a restraining hand on Matt's shoulder as Stuart and Cassidy prepared to leave.

"I'll look forward to our next meeting. You know where to find me," Stuart tossed casually over his shoulder as he swaggered out the door.

The instant they were gone, Matt shook off Simon's hand and got to his feet too.

"Smug son of a bitch. Didn't even break a sweat."

"I know Mattie, but until we get those results back and Jen gives her statement we can't charge him with the other stuff." He sighed. "Look he's not going anywhere. He won't make bail, he's a flight risk so all we have to do is wait for something we can use to pin the rest of it on him too."

The two of them gathered up all the paperwork and made their way out of the room.

"I promised Jen I'd make him talk. And what did we get? Nothing!"

In an attempt to vent some of his frustration, Matt angrily slammed the door behind them, causing a passing uniform to jump so violently, he spilled coffee all over his shirt. Matt ignored the young man's glare as he and Simon got into the lift.

"There has to be _something_ in all that evidence, we just need to find it!"

"And we will," said Simon, calmly. "You just gotta be patient. Matt, Jen is family. No-one's going to stop working on this until we nail this guy. We'll get him, I promise you that."

"How do you know?" said Matt as the doors opened at the Homicide floor. "After what we saw today I'm starting to think he might _never_ crack!"

"He will," said Simon matter-of-factly.

"And you're so sure of this, why?"

"Simple. If Jen's unhappy, you're unhappy. You'll do anything in your power to stop her from being upset and if I know you, you're not going let a piece of filth like Stuart Matthews get in the way of that."

Never in his life had Matt been as floored as he was at that moment. Relationship advice from Simon? It was like taking lessons in tact from Jarvis.

"Wow, Si. That's deep."

"I'm a constant surprise."

Simon's mobile rang then. He answered it, grinning. "Melanie! How's it going, babe?"

Matt shot him a confused look. Melanie? What had happened to Carla? Simon shrugged, and Matt couldn't help but laugh.

Some things never changed.

*******

"All we've done here today is buy you time, you know. As soon as she makes that statement, they'll haul you right back up there again."

Stuart and Cassidy were sitting side-by-side in the holding cell on the ground floor of the police station.

"So what if they do? They can't prove anything; it'll be my word against hers. Thank God that idiot Ryan couldn't manage to separate his personal life from his professional one. That punch was a blessing in disguise, even if it did hurt like all hell."

"Let's think about this. We have you, convicted rapist and escaped felon and then we have her; upstanding member of the community with the full might of the State Police behind her. If you were a juror, who would you believe?"

"I thought you were supposed to be on my side."

"I am, but we need to be realistic here, Stuart. I've stuck by you for a long time but I gotta say, trying to kill a cop is one of the stupidest things you have ever done. They won't rest until they've got you."

"Isn't it your job to make sure that doesn't happen? Otherwise what am I paying you for?"

"I'm just saying, we're in for a big fight here and I'm not sure we're going to win it."

"Well we certainly won't with that defeatist attitude, will we?" Stuart said lightly, standing up to wave over the guard. "I'll give you a call the next time our state's finest decide they want to have a chat."

Graham Cassidy understood himself to be dismissed.

Once his lawyer had gone, Stuart lay down on the rock-hard mattress and rectangular shaped boulder that passed for his pillow.

So Jenny was alive, was she? The jumped-up little bitch had somehow managed to hang in there after he'd stabbed her so viciously. He felt cheated, like he'd been offered a wonderful treat, only to have it be taken away at the last second.

How the hell had she survived? He'd planned it so carefully, made sure the knife had penetrated as far as it would go, but apparently it hadn't been good enough.

So all his hard work, breaking out of prison, finding her, kidnapping her, it had all been in vain. There she was, recovering in hospital (and probably happily coupled up with that jerk-off, Ryan by now) and he was here, in a jail cell again, awaiting the evidence that would keep him behind bars, probably for the rest of his life.

He could escape again, but what was the point? They'd catch him before he even made it across the street and if by some miracle he did get away, they'd have her surrounded by police in a heartbeat and he wouldn't be able to get near her.

If only there were some way to get her to come to _him_. A few minutes alone with her would be all it would take.

But how?

"Lights out, Matthews!" came the gruff shout of the night watchman.

There was a tiny click and the holding cell was plunged into darkness.

Stuart Matthews lay in the eerie silence, thinking hard.

********

**I bet you thought Stuart was done terrorizing our detectives. No sirree! Stay tuned to see what he's got up his sleeve!**

**A/N Once again, bear with me on the police/legal stuff. I may have to tweak it a little to make the story work but I'm doing my best to get it as close as I can.**

**If you liked it, review! If you didn't, review! If you think I should never write another word again, review and tell me so!!!**


	13. Entrapment

**Pairing and rating still the same.**

**Disclaimer: All together now: "It's not mine!"**

********

Jen's discharge from the hospital the next morning was not quite as smooth as it could have been.

"I don't need a wheelchair, just give me some crutches. I'll be fine."

"Sweetie, it's hospital policy," said Joyce, patiently. "I'm just following the rules."

"And you can't bend the rules, just once? Look, I can even put some weight on it."

Inevitably, this statement was succeeded by a piercing cry of pain and Jennifer collapsing back onto the bed.

Matt burst into the room at the sound, clutching a handful of paperwork and a course of painkillers and antibiotics for the next few days.

"What's wrong?"

"She just discovered that's she's not in quite as good shape as she thinks she is," Joyce informed him.

"No kidding."

He rolled his eyes at the sight of Jen acting like a spoilt child and he could feel a headache coming on.

"Jen, will you please just let the woman do her job so we can leave?"

Big mistake. Jen focused her annoyance on him instead.

"Who asked you?" she snapped. "Either I walk out of here myself or I don't go at all."

Currently functioning on several nights' worth of little to no sleep, Matt possessed neither the energy, nor the patience to argue with her at the moment. "Fine, if that's the way you want it." He strode over to the bed and before she had time to react, scooped her up into his arms. Joyce stifled her laughter as Matt proceeded to carry his irritated girlfriend to the door.

"Put me down!" she commanded, hitting his arm as hard as she could.

"Jen I love you, but I'm not waiting around here all day just so you can prove a point. It's either this or the wheelchair. What's it to be?"

*********

Having won the wheelchair war, Matt thought it best not to press his luck any further on the journey back to Jen's place. Not a word passed between them as she grudgingly allowed him to help her out of the car and into the house.

No sooner had he settled her on the couch, Jerry leapt lightly onto her lap, curled up, and went to sleep. She absent-mindedly began stroking him, refusing to look at Matt.

Tentatively, he broke the frosty silence. "Do you mind if I make myself a coffee? I'm still not awake."

She ignored his rather feeble stab at humour. "Sure. You know where everything is."

"You want one?" he offered.

She shook her head, and he retreated into the kitchen.

Matt made the coffee, deliberately taking his time. He racked his brains to try and figure out what he could have possibly done wrong. Surely, she couldn't be that upset about the wheelchair, could she? Jen was not one to be caught up on trivialities like that.

So what the hell was the problem?

**********

To his surprise when he re-entered the living room, it was to see her eyes glistening with tears. Instantly abandoning his coffee, he hurried to her side and put his arm around her shoulders.

"What's the matter?" he asked quietly. "You've been in a bad mood all morning."

"I'm sorry." She leaned into him, resting her head against his chest. "It's just that I hate this. I can't do a thing on my own. It makes me feel so…powerless."

"It's only temporary. A few weeks and you'll be back to your usual, ass-kicking self."

He felt, rather then saw her face relax into a smile.

"Yes, but in the meantime, you get stuck with taking care of me. I wouldn't blame you if you hated me for it."

He cupped her face with his free hand and turned it towards him, planting a sweet kiss on her lips.

"It's my duty as a boyfriend, and besides there's nowhere else I'd rather be then here with you, Jen. And if that means waiting on you hand-and-foot until you get better, I'll take it."

She painfully wriggled into his lap, dislodging Jerry, who hissed angrily before leaving to find a more suitable resting place, preferably one that stayed still.

"How did I get so lucky?"

He smirked. "A common question. What with my irresistible good looks, genius-level intelligence, boyish charm-"

She swatted him, playfully. "Don't push it," she giggled. "Seriously, what did I do to deserve someone like you?"

The smirk faded. "I'm the one who's lucky. You are way, way out of my league. I'm just waiting for the day you realize that and decide to dump me for someone tall, dark and handsome-"

"I always thought those attributes were totally overrated."

"Really?" he asked, mildly.

She ran her a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I guess I'm just more partial to blonde, part-Italian, pain-in-the-ass homicide detectives."

"That's very specific."

She shrugged. "I'm fussy." She leaned in for another kiss…and her mobile phone rang.

"Damn."

"Don't answer it," he urged her, planting soft kisses up and down her neck.

'I have to. It could be important…" she protested, trying not to get too caught up in the pleasurable sensation of his lips on her skin.

"They can call back." She could feel his breath on her neck, interfering with her thought process.

"Stop that! I can't think straight."

"Good. All you should be doing right now is feeling."

In the background, the phone continued ringing, the volume rising as the ring tone reached the crescendo. Disentangling herself from Matt's arms, she reached for it, ignoring his moan of protest.

"Hello? Sarge! Yes…I'm sorry I took so long, I couldn't get to my phone…" She took a moment to glare accusingly at Matt, who was gently stroking her thigh, before returning to the conversation.

The call seemed to take forever, so Matt who was sick of being pointedly ignored, went back to the kitchen. He would cook her dinner tonight, he had learned how from his mother many years ago.

Thinking of his mother always made him sad. He wished she were here now, he would have loved to introduce her to Jen, invite her over for dinner, spend time together.

She would have liked that.

*********

From the living room, Matt heard the snapping sound of the phone being closed.

"Matt? Where are you?"

He stuck his head around the doorframe. "Right here. What did Wolfie want?"

She sighed. "It's about Stuart."

"Oh."

He sat down beside her. Jen played distractedly with her phone, passing it from one hand to the other.

"Apparently, he wants to confess."

"Jen, that's great news!" Catching on to her less-than-enthusiastic mood, he continued gently. "So why aren't you pleased?"

"There's a catch. He says Stuart will only do it if he can talk to me first. Alone."

***********

"Over my dead body."

Jennifer winced. Matt was taking the news just as she had expected he would. Flat-out refusal.

"Matt…" she began, appeasingly.

"No. No way. I won't let him within a hundred metres of you, let alone the same room. Forget it."

She sighed. "I'm not asking for your permission here, I am an adult. I can make my own decisions."

"Great. So can I. And I've decided you're not going. End of story," Matt shot back stubbornly.

"Matt, you're being unreasonable. We'll be in a remand centre, guards everywhere. What can he do?"

"God only knows. But I wouldn't put it past him to try something."

Jen thought it was time to change tactics. Clearly, the direct approach wasn't getting her anywhere.

She settled back onto his chest again, feeling his arms automatically encircling her body, holding her close.

"Look," she said after a while. "I know you're just trying to look after me and I appreciate it, I really do, but you have to let me do this."

"No I don't. Some evidence will turn up and we can pin him with that. Your testimony will just be a backstop. You'll see. I'm going to make damn sure that you never have to lay eyes on his twisted face again." She wasn't sure, but she thought she felt his grip on her tighten a little as he said this.

"I need closure. And I'm not going to get it from evidence. You know that. I need to hear him say it."

"We'll have him call you from jail," he said brusquely.

"It's not the same." She turned her head to look at him. " Matt, I'm doing this whether you like it or not, but it would mean the world to me if you didn't fight me on this. It's going to be hard enough without you being mad at me too."

"I'm not mad at _you_, I'm mad at him. It doesn't matter what we do, he always wins!"

"Not this time. You promised me you'd get him, and I trust you. Now you have to trust me. Can you do that?"

He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Jen and if this is really what you want, I suppose I'll have to accept it. But that doesn't mean I agree," he clarified. "It just means that I hate fighting with you."

"I guess that's going to have to do. Thank you," she said sincerely.

"I'm defenceless before your wishes. And it doesn't help when you're batting your eyelashes at me like that. Give a guy a chance."

Jennifer filed this information away for later use. "The sooner we can put this nightmare behind us, the sooner we can start focusing on _us_. I'm looking forward to that."

"Me too."

A brief silence.

"All right," he said, easing her off of him. "I don't know about you but I'm starved. How about I make us something to eat?"

She looked at him in surprise. "Since when can you cook?"

He shook his head in disbelief. "Jen, I'm Italian. It's in the genes."

*********

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

The lights of the remand centre had been turned off again for the night and the sound of scraping carried all around.

Years of insomnia in a jail cell had awarded Stuart remarkably good night vision so he continued to work away, not the slightest bit perturbed by the lack of light.

There was a banging on the bars of his cell. "Shut up in there!" came the cry. Stuart ignored it, and carried on with his task.

One chance. That was all he had.

He'd overheard the guards talking that afternoon as they'd performed routine security checks.

She was coming. She'd taken the bait.

Now all he had to do was spring the trap.

*********

**I know, more fluff. I'm sorry, but this chapter popped into my head and wouldn't go away until I wrote it down. Pesky thing.**

**Feel free to abuse me via review if you think I'm deviating from the story too much, I'm sure I deserve it. **

**If on the off chance you actually liked this chapter please, please review. I'd like to think I'm doing something right. **


	14. Doublecross

**Once again, I stress it isn't mine.**

**Pairing and rating as before. There's a little coarse language in this chapter, just a heads up.**

**If any of you are 'Bones' fans you may recognize a line in this chapter, which I also do not claim as my own, I just love it and thought it would be useful here.**

**Hope you enjoy! **

*******

Swirling darkness all around, the crunch of footsteps, the cold rough texture of a stone floor, the smooth metal blade of a knife. A dark shape, getting closer and closer…

Jen gasped as she awoke from the horribly vivid nightmare, panting and drenched in a cold sweat. It had seemed so real. She fumbled for the bedside lamp, exhaling as light flooded the room.

She supposed she should have expected these terrifying flashbacks to her time in the warehouse but that knowledge didn't make them any easier to deal with. She focused on trying to steady her breathing. It was just a dream; it couldn't hurt her. Stuart was locked away; under guard day and night there was no way he could get to her. She was safe. She told herself that over and over. It was a shame she didn't believe it.

There was a soft tap on her bedroom door and Matt called through it.

"Jen? Are you OK?"

Great. Not only had she worked herself up into this ridiculous state, she'd woken Matt as well. He'd insisted that she needed a good night's rest and that he'd take the couch, at least for tonight, ("honestly Jen, I'm a gentleman. I'd never take advantage of you in your weakened state," he'd quipped, earning himself a rather painful punch in the arm.)

"I'm fine, Matt. Go back to sleep." She didn't even believe herself, so there was zero chance that he would be fooled. Sure enough, she heard him scoff from behind the door.

"Yeah, sure you're fine. And pigs can fly too."

He came into the room and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Bad dreams?" he asked.

She nodded. "Good guess."

"I thought so. I could hear you thrashing around and whimpering from down the hall. I've already come to check on you twice, but you were still asleep and I didn't want to wake you."

He squeezed her shoulder, comfortingly.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really. You can probably guess what it was about."

"Probably," he agreed. "But you can tell me anyway, it might make you feel better."

"I doubt it."

"OK. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Stay."

She hated herself for being so childish, but in truth, it was the only way she could think of to make the demons go away.

He said nothing, but got into the bed. She switched off the light and nestled herself in as close to him as she could get. A sense of peace and calm washed over her as they lay there together, the darkness suddenly not so threatening. Safe in Matt's arms, it didn't take her long to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

For Matt however, sleep did not come quite so easily. He trailed his fingers lightly up and down her arm as her breathing settled into the rhythm of deep sleep. He wished there was more he could do to help her, some way he could fix everything, make it all go away.

Slowly, she was falling to pieces. Normally tough-as-nails, she would never have been reduced to nightmares before all this had happened. It upset him to see her in such pain and there was not a damn thing he could do about it. He pressed a kiss to her temple; gentle enough so as not to wake her up and suddenly an answer came to him, in a sudden burst of clarity.

There _was_ something he could do. Sure it was a little underhanded and she'd kill him if she ever found out, but desperate times called for desperate measures, right?

Besides, he thought, as she let out a small sigh. She was worth it.

*****

The buzzing sound of the fluorescent lights woke Stuart from his light doze. He'd been up nearly all night working, but it had been worth it. Today was the day. The day it all came to an end.

******

"Babe, I've gotta go out for a while," Matt announced after breakfast the next morning.

The endearment slipped out before he could stop it. Mercifully, she didn't seem to have heard it and simply took another sip of coffee.

"Where are you going?" Jen asked him as he rinsed out his coffee mug and grabbed his car keys.

"I've got something I have to do. Your appointment isn't until later, I promise I'll be back in time to get you there."

The 'appointment' in question was actually Jen's meeting with Stuart but Matt found it easier not to think about it that way. Or better yet, not to think about it, period.

"I'll only be gone for an hour or two. This is really important or else I wouldn't bother." He paused by the hallway mirror to put on his tie. Annoyingly, it didn't seem to be cooperating this morning, but maybe that was because he was too busy thinking about what he was about to do.

She laughed at him as he cursed at the tie after the sixth failed attempt. "Come here."

Scowling, he walked over to where she was sitting on a kitchen chair, her injured foot resting on a cushion on the floor.

She retied it for him. "I can't believe that while you practically _live_ in suits, you still don't know how to do up a tie properly. You really are hopeless."

"But you love me anyway."

She straightened it, and gave him a quick kiss. "God knows why. And if you value your life you won't ever call me 'babe' again."

He winced. So she _had_ noticed. Crap. Time to make himself scarce. Saying a hasty goodbye, he practically bolted for the door.

Jen stifled a laugh. Truth be told, she actually didn't mind the nickname all that much, but seeing her boyfriend cowering in fear was just too funny to miss out on.

God knew she was going to need a laugh after today.

*******

Matt's knuckles were clenched tight on the steering wheel as he drove. Was he sure about this? It could mean suspension or possibly even the end of his career? Was he willing to take that chance?

It only took a split second to make his decision.

Yes.

*******

"Matthews! You have a visitor!" The guard's booming voice interrupted Stuart's solitude. The door buzzed and he saw his mystery guest was none other then Detective Ryan, flanked by two other guards.

"It's okay, guys" Matt said to them. They exchanged glances but went out, leaving Stuart and Matt alone.

"Well," said Stuart. "This is a surprise. We should really stop spending so much time together, Detective. People are going to talk."

Matt ignored this comment. "I don't have time for your bullshit Matthews, so I'll get right to the point. I don't know what you're playing at with this 'confession' of yours but I am damn sure that you're up to something."

"You do know how paranoid you sound, right?"

"Let's just get one thing straight. I'll be watching this interview you're having with Jen this afternoon. I'm warning you, one false move, and I guarantee it'll be your last."

Stuart grinned. "Ah, so you and Jenny are an item now, are you? I guess congratulations are in order."

Matt leaned towards him and dropped his voice to a menacing whisper. "The only thing you need to know is, you attack her, and I'll drill you through the forehead."

"This is harassment, Detective. I could report you for this."

"Go ahead. The only thing I care about right now is her safety. The sooner you're rotting away in a jail cell somewhere, the happier I'll be."

"Found any evidence yet?" Stuart asked superciliously.

"Tests are due back in a couple of hours. You're going down."

"Maybe. Maybe not. We'll just have to wait and see."

"Yes we will. In the meantime, remember what I've said."

"Yes, yes," said Stuart in a bored voice. "If I lay a finger on her, you'll kill me, I get it. Now are we done?"

"We're done. For now." Matt stood up and the two guards came over to unlock the doors.

"Detective?" Stuart called after him. "Tell Jenny that I'm just _dying _to see her, won't you?"

It took all the self-restraint Matt possessed not to turn around and thump him one right then and there. Amazingly, he managed to keep walking away and when he got out of sight of the cell, settled for punching the wall instead.

********

The rest of the morning flew by and before he knew it, he was pulling into his space in the station car park.

"You don't have to do this," he said to Jen, who was in the passenger seat. "No-one is going to say anything if you decide you can't face it. And if they do, they'll have me to answer to."

She took his hand in hers and squeezed it.

"I don't want to do it Mattie but I have to. I need to prove to myself that he doesn't scare me anymore."

"But-"

"Matt you've been wonderful these past few weeks but you can't fight all my battles for me. This is something I have to do on my own."

She leaned over the console and kissed his cheek. "I love you so much," she said. "Soon all this crap will be over and everything's going to be fine."

In spite of the situation, he grinned. "Not true. Once I figure out a way of keeping my hands off you while we're at work, _then_ we'll be fine."

She laughed. "You seemed to manage fine for the last six months."

"Only because I thought you'd kick my ass into next week, like you did to Cooper."

Mick Cooper, the office sleaze, was in the Organized Crime department with whom Homicide occasionally crossed over during cases. Cooper had irritated the hell out of the Homicide squad right from the start and after making one too many unwanted passes at Jen, had ended up with a lot more than just a bruised ego by the time she'd finished with him.

He hadn't tried it on with any more of his female colleagues since.

"Don't get too confident, I still might." She took a deep breath, the smile fading. "OK, I'm ready. Let's get this over with."

*******

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

For what felt like the millionth time, Jen found herself in the interrogation room, waiting for the door to open. The only real difference was that this time, none of her colleagues were by her side. All the interviews she'd ever done had been tag-team affairs with someone always there to help out, should she falter.

Not this time.

Just herself and Stuart. One on one.

Never before had she approached an interview with this kind of apprehension. The feeling of trepidation increased tenfold as the door opened and Stuart entered the room.

He grinned. "Hello Jenny."

"Stuart."

"So, where's your bodyguard?" he asked casually.

"My what?"

"I barely recognise you without Detective Ryan snapping at your heels. Won't it be good to just have a nice, private chat?"

"I didn't come here for this Stuart, so let's cut to the chase. What is it you want to tell me?"

"Depends. What is it you want to hear?"

"Full confession would be nice."

He shrugged. "Not without my lawyer present."

"That can be arranged."

"I'm sure. And while he's here I can look into laying some charges of my own."

"Being?"

"Harassment. Detective Ryan's got a bit of an attitude."

"What?" she asked in surprise.

"Oh he didn't tell you about our little interlude this morning? Dear, dear, isn't open communication supposed to be a vital part of a healthy relationship?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Allow me to enlighten you. He threatened my life if anything were to happen to you, and to hell with the consequences. His loyalty to you is admirable, even though his methods aren't."

"_Matt Ryan, just you wait until I get my hands on you!"_ Jen thought angrily, while trying to look like this information was not news to her.

********

In the viewing room, Stanley switched the volume off on the monitor and turned to Matt with his arms folded and a muscle jumping in his jaw.

"Something you'd like to share with us, Detective Ryan?" he asked, in a deadly calm voice.

Simon and Duncan cringed. Whenever the Sarge used that tone, someone's head was about to roll.

Everyone was so distracted; they didn't see Stuart remove something sharp from his pocket.

With the sound muted, nobody heard the crash as he wedged a chair under the door or Jen's shriek as he lunged at her.

Unable to run, due to her foot and still too weak to fight him off she found herself once again at his mercy. She screamed again.

"Scream all you want," he hissed. "By the time they get in here, you'll be dead. No mistakes this time."

He brandished his weapon, fashioned from a regulation issue toothbrush, sharpened to a point with a stone he'd found in the exercise yard.

He held it to her throat, aiming for the jugular vein. She knew if he stabbed her there, she'd be dead within minutes. She looked pleadingly up at the camera fixed to the wall. Where were the others? Why weren't they coming?

With malice glimmering in his eyes, Stuart pulled back his arm and prepared to thrust the makeshift shiv into her neck.

"Any last words?"

*****

**Has our Jen's luck finally run out? Find out soon!**

**Review please. :)**


	15. All Cards On The Table

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

**Rating: Still T with some violence and a spot of course language.**

**Pairing: Duh.**

********

Last words. What would be the last words she would say on this earth?

She thought fast, and came up with only one. Her only hope, the only word that could possibly save her now.

"MATT!"

Over in the viewing room, Matt and Stanley were at loggerheads. The proceedings in the interrogation room were all but forgotten as superior and subordinate battled it out. The monitor was ignored and the desperate cry unheeded.

*******

"I guess Prince Charming isn't going to ride in on his white horse this time, huh Jenny?" Stuart taunted. "For once the story's going to end _my_ way." He placed the tiniest amount of pressure on the weapon and she felt it begin to pierce her skin. At any moment, she expected Matt to come bursting through the door but as the spike broke through, there was no sign of him.

What were they doing in that viewing room, she thought to herself. How could they not know what was going on?

********

Duncan and Simon watched in amazement as the Sarge and Matt exchanged blow after verbal blow.

"Do you realize how very close you are to ruining your entire career? If he decides to press charges you can kiss your professional integrity goodbye, and take it from me, it's not nearly as easy to get it back. "

"I don't care," said Matt, defiantly. "Everyone keeps telling me to be patient, but where is all this patience getting me? Nowhere! And in the meantime, Jen has to suffer just because you're too worried about the politics to even care about what's right by her!"

"You are out of line, Detective."

"With all due respect Sarge, you're the one that's out of line! She's been to hell and back this week and all you care about is covering your own ass!"

Silence.

Matt knew he'd overstepped the mark, but he found that he wasn't sorry at all. He was doing this for Jen, his strong, brave, beautiful Jen who was right now facing up to her worst nightmare, just because he and the rest of the team hadn't done their jobs properly and locked up the asshole right away.

Stanley wore a look on his face akin to having just been punched in the gut. Where had his reasonable, levelheaded detective gone?

To break the awkward moment, Simon leaned over to the monitor to turn the sound back up.

He froze in the act of reaching for the knob.

"Oh crap."

Three heads turned in his direction.

"What is it, Simon?" asked Stanley, calmly.

Simon stepped away from the screen, awarding everyone a clear view of what was going on in the interrogation room.

Jen, with her arms pinned to her sides was struggling with Stuart as he held something to her throat. Their lips were moving, but still there was silence. Simon turned the volume up all the way.

"MATT!" came the plea.

The next thing anyone heard was the door slamming behind Matt as he immediately rushed from the room. Without a moment's hesitation, Simon and Duncan followed him.

*******

Stuart' arms pressed hard on Jen's windpipe. She knew she would not be able to call out again. If Matt hadn't heard her this time, she was on her own. It was difficult to breathe. Her vision began to cloud as her oxygen supply was steadily cut off by Stuart's tight grip but she didn't panic yet. Matt had never failed her before, why would now be any different?

********

Matt tore down the corridor, not even bothering to stop when he collided with Superintendant Waverly, causing her to fall to the floor with a heavy thud. She'd just begun to pick herself up when Simon and Duncan blew past her, hot on Matt's heels.

Angrily, she marched into the viewing room.

"Stanley, have your team completely lost their minds?" she demanded to know.

Wordlessly, he pointed to the monitor where Jen was still fighting her attacker, albeit with less vigour then before.

Waverly's jaw dropped.

********

Matt skidded to a stop outside the interrogation room door. Inside he could hear the scuffling sounds of the fight. He threw his weight against the door. It didn't budge.

The sudden thud took Stuart by surprise. Jen took advantage of his distraction by elbowing him squarely in the stomach. He yelped in pain, releasing his grip. Ignoring the renewed agony of her broken ankle she darted away from him.

Matt was coming. It was all right; all she had to do was stay alive until he got inside. With a new strength she turned to face Stuart once more. He had already recovered from her surprise attack and was preparing to go for her again.

Again and again Matt shoulder-charged the door, but to no avail. He cried out in frustration at being so close, but yet so far from being able to get to her.

Approaching footsteps alerted him to the arrival of Duncan and Simon.

"Mattie, what's up?" Simon puffed, red-faced.

"He's done something to the bloody door," Matt spat. "I can't get in."

He rammed it once more.

"_You _can't," Duncan said. "_We_ can. Together."

The three of them lined up, facing the door.

"On three," he said. "One…"

"Two," said Simon.

"Three!" Matt yelled.

As one, they threw themselves against the door. The combined weight of three bodies did what one could not, and the door began to move.

"Again," Simon said.

********

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

From inside the room, Jen dimly registered her colleagues' attempts to get in. The sound gave her new heart and she dodged Stuart's reaching arms and struck out at him, like a cobra. In the confusion, Stuart lost his grip on his weapon and it fell from his hand. He grabbed for it, but missed, and it hit the floor with a clatter.

Jen dove on it, feeling her ankle re-break as it struck the floor at an odd angle. She screamed in agony. She just had to hang on for a few more minutes and then everything would be fine.

********

Little by little, the door was beginning to give way.

Suddenly, Jen's scream reverberated around the deserted hallway. The sound cut through Matt like a knife. There was nothing he could do but keep trying to break down the door.

"Keep going," he panted. "We've almost got it."

With her good leg, Jen kicked out at Stuart, catching him in the head. The blow dazed him enough for her to get up behind him. She poised the weapon threateningly just inches from his neck; savouring the feeling of power it gave her.

"Give me a reason," she snarled at him. "Give me one reason to do it, and I swear I will."

********

"One more!" Matt shouted.

He, Simon and Duncan ran at it again and hit it with all their might. It detached from the frame, dangling by its hinges. Simon kicked it and it crashed to the floor. At precisely the same moment, the detectives drew their weapons and ran into the room to find Stuart on his knees, hands in the air with Jen standing over him, holding on the table for support, but ready to react to his slightest move.

"_That's my girl,"_ Matt thought. She'd never been one to go down without a fight. But she didn't lower the weapon when she heard them come in. She was completely focused on Stuart and Matt could see the same murderous anger in her eyes that he himself had been experiencing so often over the past few weeks. He exchanged worried glances with the other two. They had to stop her before she did something stupid. But how?

"Mattie, you've got to talk to her," Simon said quietly. "You're the only one she'll listen to." Matt nodded and put his gun away.

"Cover him," he told the other two.

Slowly, carefully he approached her. "It's OK, Jen," he said soothingly. "You can put it down now. Everything's going to be fine."

She shook her head. "I have to end this now. Otherwise he'll just find some other way to worm his way out of trouble again."

"Not this time. Si and Dunny have got him covered, he isn't going anywhere."

"He deserves to be punished. After everything he's put me through, he has to pay."

"I know, baby. I know. But it's not up to you to decide how to do that. That's for the system to work out."

She nodded slowly, but held the weapon steady. "I can't let him get away with it, Matt."

"And he won't. No jury could ignore everything that's happened and find him not guilty."

Finally, she tore her gaze from Stuart and met Matt's eyes. "I just want this to be over," she said, with a hint of a tremor in her voice. "I can't do this anymore."

"You can't give him the satisfaction of killing him, Jen. Then he gets out of it, scot-free and you'll be the one to suffer."

"I don't think anyone would hold it against me if I did."

"No, they probably wouldn't. But you're better than this Jen, don't descend to his level."

He could see he was getting through to her at last. The hand clenched so tightly around the shiv began to shake uncontrollably.

"You have to make a choice now," he continued gently. "What are you going to do?"

She hesitated for a long moment, and then suddenly, she threw her weapon across the room, far out of her reach.

On cue, Simon and Duncan holstered their guns and wrestled Stuart to the floor together, handcuffing his arms behind his back.

Jen stood motionless, watching the scene until she felt Matt's hand on her shoulder and heard his voice in her ear.

"I'm proud of you," was all he said.

*******

"Ow!" Stuart complained as the cuffs pinched his skin. "They're too tight!"

"Oh sorry," said Duncan sarcastically. "Let me fix that." He pulled them still tighter.

Stuart howled in pain and Duncan grinned at him. "Let's go," he said to Simon and they started to haul him towards the door.

"Wait!" Jen's voice rang out before they'd gone more than a couple of steps.

"Before you take him away, there's just one thing I need."

Matt put an arm around her and she leaned heavily on him as she hobbled to where Stuart was standing. She stopped right in front of him.

"Say it."

First the first time ever, there were cracks in Stuart's calm façade. He was having trouble holding her gaze and his breathing was slightly faster than usual, but still he attempted to give off an air of casual indifference.

"Say what, exactly?" he asked.

Jen detected a catch in his voice that had certainly never been there before and she smiled. Finally, she had him on the back foot, out of control. It felt good.

"Admit what you did to me. Out loud."

"And if I don't?"

Very subtly, Duncan tightened the handcuffs some more. "Trust me, it'll go a lot worse for you if you don't," he whispered menacingly.

And Stuart believed him. If ever there was a cop that should be taken seriously, it was Detective Freeman. He'd seen enough of what the man could do to know that he was pretty much capable of anything.

Any way Stuart looked at it, he was screwed. No point making the situation any worse.

"Fine. I, Stuart Matthews kidnapped you, tortured you and tried to kill you. I confess to all the accusations laid against me and if given the chance, would happily do it all again. Satisfied?"

A feeling of triumph spread all through her body. "Yes."

"You know all that is inadmissible in court, right?"

"Who said anything about using it in court? We've got more than enough to charge you with. That was just for my benefit and just so you'd know that you lost."

She smiled sweetly at him.

At this, Stuart lost control. "This isn't over!" he yelled. "You'll be sorry!"

Jen was unfazed, the picture of serenity.

"Let's get him out of here," Simon said to Duncan and the two of them dragged Stuart out of the room, the latter still ranting at the top of his lungs.

********

"It's over," she said to Matt. "It's finally over." She felt lighter than air, as if a massive burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Even her ankle didn't hurt quite as much anymore.

He kissed her forehead. "You were amazing."

"So were you. Thanks for stopping me from…you know."

"I didn't," said Matt. "You did it yourself."

She accidentally put a little weight on her recently re-broken ankle and winced.

He chuckled. "Come on, we'd better get you back to the hospital and get that ankle fixed."

**********

Three hours later, they arrived back at the office after having Jen's ankle reset by a very amused Joyce. Simon and Duncan were chatting cheerfully, and steadily eating their way through a large Hawaiian pizza.

"What's put you two in such a good mood?" asked Jen as Matt helped her into her chair.

"Forensics came through with the goods," said Simon through a mouthful of pineapple and ham. "Prints on the knife and cigarette lighter. Plus the real Ernie Stavrino ID'd him from a photo so we got him on fraud and both counts of kidnapping. Add that to your testimony and the hospital report plus the footage of his little display downstairs and we have a rock-solid case. DPP is preparing to lay charges right now."

"In short, our pal Stuie isn't going to be bothering you for a long, long time, Jen," Duncan concluded with satisfaction.

She smiled at them all. "Thanks guys. For everything."

"Hey, mess with one of us and they mess with all of us," said Simon and the other two nodded in agreement. "Want some pizza?"

Laughing, Jen took the offered plate and dug in.

********

Matt saw the door to Stanley's office was open.

"I'll be right back," he murmured quietly to Jen. She looked at him questioningly, but said nothing.

He knocked on the door. Stanley was rummaging around in his desk drawer for something and looked up at the sound.

"Sarge? Can I have a minute?"

"Of course, Matt. Come in."

Matt obeyed, shutting the door behind him.

"I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted this afternoon," he said. "I was out of line, and totally unprofessional."

"Yes," Stanley agreed.

"I just wanted you to know that I am fully prepared to accept the consequences, whatever they might be."

"Everyone was under a lot of stress today," said Stanley. "Things were said in the heat of the moment that weren't meant and I don't think it will be necessary to stir things up anymore, do you?"

Matt could hardly believe his luck. He'd expected a month's worth of desk duty at the very least and here was the Sarge, willing to forget the whole thing.

"No sir. Thank you." He retreated to the door.

"Matt, one more thing."

He turned back around.

"As you know, Mr Matthews made an accusation that you and Jennifer were in a personal relationship. Is that true?"

Matt froze. He'd been dreading this question and had vehemently hoped it wouldn't come up so soon. Still, there was no point lying, the Sarge would find out sooner or later. He knew that as soon as he gave his answer, it would mean the end of either he or Jen's career in Homicide.

"Yes."

"You know that as your supervisor, I can't allow you both to remain in Homicide."

Matt nodded. "Yes sir."

"However…"

Matt felt his hopes rise ever so slightly.

"I can hardly do anything about team relationships I'm not aware of. I have to _see _it for myself, if you know what I mean."

"I do."

"If there's nothing to see, I don't think there's any reason to have either of you seconded to somewhere else, do you?"

"No sir," said Matt, trying to hide the grin on his face.

"Glad we understand each other. You're dismissed."

Someone up there must like him, Matt thought as he left Stanley's office. Stuart was behind bars, his career was safe and he was dating the most beautiful, wonderful woman he'd ever met.

She seemed to sense his gaze and smiled at him over the heads of the other two.

He returned it.

Truly, life was good.

**So there you have it, folks. What did you think? One more chapter to go and it should be up fairly soon.**

**Also good work to bubbles799 and RyanThorpe who correctly identified the 'Bones' line in the last chapter. Another one of my fave shows. **


	16. Epilogue

**Major fluff warning for this chapter. Sorry everyone, I couldn't resist.**

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next time Stuart saw Jennifer was 14 months later at his trial. The sluggish pace of the justice system was infuriating.

He first glimpsed her at the back of the room, a brief flash of blonde hair, but it was when she took the witness stand that he had the chance to see her properly.

She looked well. Her ankle and ribs had long since healed and she stood tall and proud again. When he caught her eye, she held his gaze with not a trace of fear, rather a detached kind of distaste, as if he were something unpleasant on the bottom of her shoe.

When she took the oath, something on her left hand glittered in the sunlight that streamed through the windows of the courthouse. A diamond, he discovered. So she was engaged now, to Detective Ryan, no doubt. Maybe that was responsible for the spring in her step and the way her eyes seemed to sparkle with happiness.

It just wasn't fair. Stuart wasn't accustomed to losing and for her to have the audacity to come here and look so happy and content made his blood boil.

Jennifer noted Stuart's resentful glare from her seat on the stand. She spared no more than a second's notice on him and instead searched for the face of her boyfriend (and now fiancée.) She saw him struggling to keep his eyes open in his seat near the back of the room.

She smiled at him. When he had proposed, it had taken her totally by surprise.

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Two Weeks Ago

It was the end of another long day. Wearily, Jennifer trudged across the office to the elevator. The suspect in their latest case (a young man had been beaten to death) had lawyered up and spent a good part of the day stonewalling them. Also Stuart's trial was coming up. Even though she knew he wouldn't be getting away with it this time, she was still nervous.

'Night Jen,' Duncan called out from his desk.

She raised a hand in acknowledgement, too exhausted and fed up to feel like stopping for a chat.

She made it to the lift, and leaned against the back wall as the doors began to close.

But then a hand shot out of nowhere, and stopped them. The hand belonged to none other then Matt, who'd just managed to extricate himself from Simon's monologue about his latest conquest (she was a small-time model, it turned out.)

Matt stepped inside and the doors slid closed. They began to descend.

"Hey," he greeted Jen, shooting her the smile he reserved especially for her and reaching for her hand.

She slapped his hand away. "Matt!" she hissed. "We're at work!"

"End of the day," he said, taking a step toward her. "Doesn't count." She could smell his cologne, the one she'd given him for his birthday.

"There's video cameras in here!"

"They're down for maintenance today," he said casually. "And anyway, who cares? Half the station already knows about us."

"Great."

He pulled her into his arms, not that she fought him all that hard. "Don't stress, baby. How about we go back to my place and I'll cook us something to eat?"

She nodded, and then smiled. "If those doors weren't going to open at any moment, I'd kiss you right now."

He pulled the emergency stop button. "You were saying?"

"Matt!" she chastised him, shocked.

"So where's my kiss?"

She scowled at him, but pecked him on the cheek all the same.

"I was in this elevator the first time I ever saw you," he said, reminiscently. "When you walked in, I practically had to pick my jaw up off the floor, and then when you mentioned you were coming to Homicide, I couldn't believe my luck."

She blushed.

"So I figured this would be a good place to do something I've wanted to do for a long time."

"Oh really? What's that?"

"Hold out your hands," he instructed.

She sighed in exasperation, but obeyed, knowing he wouldn't get them moving again until she did as he asked.

He placed something on her palm.

She looked at it. An engagement ring.

"Matt…" she breathed.

He took a deep breath. "I'm not going to go on about how I much I love you, because you already know that. So I'm just going to come out and say it. Jen, will you marry me?"

She found it impossible to speak for several seconds, attention fully caught by the ring in her hand.

It was enough to make Matt very nervous. What if he hadn't done it right? What if he hadn't said it right? What if he'd misread her completely and she didn't want to marry him at all?

She remained silent, still transfixed.

He couldn't take it anymore.

"Babe?" Matt prompted. "You're kinda leaving me hanging here."

In one motion she transferred the ring to her finger and flung her arms around him, giving him the most loving, passionate kiss imaginable.

After several minutes, they broke apart.

"So that's a 'yes' then?" he asked, somewhat breathlessly.

"Of course, you idiot," she said, a little hysterically, before she kissed him again.

Neither was sure how the stop button was pressed again but when the kiss was broken off, it was to the resounding applause of their colleagues in the lobby.

"You lied about the cameras being broken,' she said as their public humiliation became apparent. It wasn't a question.

He beamed at her. "Yep."

"Security saw the whole thing."

"Mm-hmm."

"And it's on tape for the rest of the building to see."

"Correct."

"You are so lucky you just proposed to me, or I swear I'd kill you right here and now."

"Love you too. Now let's give these people what they want."

Before she could protest, he pulled her into another kiss, amid cheers from the crowd.

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It took the jury only two hours to find Stuart guilty on all counts.

Joyfully, Jen embraced Matt as Stuart was escorted from the room, flanked by two guards.

Stuart chanced a look over his shoulder to see them holding each other close, the diamond ring winking in the light.

For now, she would be the one who had literally gotten away. The one voice he hadn't been able to silence.

But as was said, nothing is final until you're dead.

One way or another, they would see each other again. Perhaps the third time would be the charm.

Even as he was lead away, he knew it wouldn't end here. He'd gotten out of prison once, he could do it again. And when he did…. then they'd see who the loser was.

* * *

**So that's the end. Thanks so much to all who've read and reviewed. I may write a sequel in due course, if anyone's interested. I have an idea for one…**


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